Taking Chances
by troyellalover77
Summary: Gabriella Montez runs one of the top PR firms who is looking for anything but love. Troy Bolton is a professional basketball player who doesn't have the best reputation. Will she break down her walls and take a chance on someone who isn't who he's made out to be? Or is it just too much for her?
1. Chapter 1

"Tell him to book the place and to call me if he has any questions" 25-year-old Gabriella Montez told her assistant, Sarah, as she made her way into her office.

Gabriella was in charge of one of the best PR firms in Los Angeles at the mere age of 25, which is very impressive. She worked her butt off at USC and a few years later, here she is. Running her own company, living her dream in LA, and having the best friends and family possible. What more could a girl possibly want?

When she was younger, she lived in New Mexico, with a dream of always wanting to get away. She knew California was the place for her, so when she got into USC when she was 18, there was no hesitating in moving. Her best friends in the world were even coming along with her.

The first year was rough for her. She didn't realize how homesick she'd be and how hard college was, but she pulled through, and graduated early. After landing a killer internship at Vogue and doing PR for them, she knew even more that she wanted to build her own company. With the help of some connections, at the age of 23, her company was up and running. And for the past 2 years, it's been the best PR firm in LA. Every celebrity or socialite wanted her team on the job. And she couldn't be happier about it.

"Gabi, I just got a call from the Laker's publicist and she would like to hire us for this upcoming weekend"

Her eyes shifted from the computer to Sarah in frenzy. 5 days to plan? Is she crazy? She can definitely pull it off, if she canceled all her meetings and such.

"Sarah, really? 5 days!?"

Sarah nodded. She sat in a chair in front of Gabriella's desk and gave her a paper, "One of the players from the team is coming out with a cologne and they want this event to be big. They want all the major magazines there, E!, Extra, Access Hollywood, celebrities, everything. I told them I'd get back to them this afternoon. What do you think?"

Gabriella scanned over the paper. Her head was spinning and she needed a drink. She put her head in her hands, and thought for a minute.

"This is huge Gabi, I mean, it's basically for the Lakers. I know it's a short amount of time, but I'm positive we can do it"

Gabriella looked up and smiled at Sarah, "You're right. Let's do it. Cancel all my meetings this week and let's get to work"

Sarah smiled back, and got up, "I'm sure we won't regret this. Plus, it's the Lakers… Have you seen them? They're all so attractive. You'll look good with Zach Nichols or Derek Miller. No wait… Troy Bolton! Oh my gosh, he's so good looking"

"Sarah, sarah, calm down!"

Sarah blushed a bit; embarrassed she got a little carried away.

"Look, I'm sure they're all very attractive in person, but they don't have the best reputations and you know I'm in no place to date right now. I have a company to run. And I don't even know why I'm talking about this right now. That will never happen."

Sarah laughed a bit. Gabriella was "never" in a place to date. "Fine, whatever you say boss"

"Thanks, shut the door on your way out please"

* * *

Troy Bolton, 25-year-old point guard for the Lakers, woke up with his head pounding and the room spinning. He was mentally beating himself up for getting so wasted last night. But it was the first day of off-season and he had to celebrate someway. Basketball could be too much at times and even though he loved the game, he loved his rest too.

Troy grabbed his phone from his nightstand and saw 5 missed called and 4 text messages.

_Mom, Mom, Chad, Mom, Zeke._

What did his mom want? She was always calling and though he loved her with everything inside of him, she was still treating him like he was 10.

He deleted all his missed called and checked his text messages.

Two were from his mom which read:

**Honey, are you coming to visit next week?**

**Check out the newest US magazine. Supposedly you took home three girls. Lol**

Groaning, he laid back in bed and put a pillow over his face. He hated the tabloids and hated how his mom even took the time to read them.

After a few seconds, he checked the other two texts that he had. One was from his best friend and teammate, Chad.

**Dude just because it's off-season does not mean you need to get crazy drunk. **

And the other one was from his publicist.

**You are dead. Star is running a story that you took three girls home last weekend.**

Troy couldn't take it anymore. He chucked his phone across the room, not caring if it breaks or not. He hated being in the spotlight, but he loved playing basketball and for the Lakers. He just wished they'd focus more on his game than his personal life. He's a single 25 year old man, what's so bad about dating around? He hated how the media made it a bigger deal that it was. If he was a normal 25 year old man, it would be totally normal.

Troy heard a knock on his door and ignored it. He wasn't in the mood to see anymore. But the knocking wouldn't go away and he eventually got up at answered it. It was Chad.

"What are you doing here?"

Chad made his way inside and towards the kitchen, "Making sure you're well enough for the launch party tonight"

Troy's eyes widened. He completely forgot about his teammates cologne and that tonight was the night of his big event.

"Shit man, I completely forgot. What time?"

Chad got out some stuff to make a sandwich from his refrigerator. He walked over to the cabinets and took out a plate.

"7 is the red carpet. Try not to look so hung over by then. And try not to drink so much tonight. Or hook up with a girl. You're getting scrutinized in all the magazines in case you didn't know"

Troy walked over to his cabinet and took out some cereal, "I know, Chad. But you know I'm not a whore. You know I would never bring three girls home. I barely bring one! The last time I brought a girl home, I dated her for, like, a few weeks! But I'm single, who cares what the fuck I do? They're making it seem like such a horrible thing to hook up with a girl. It's not like I'm having sex with them!"

Closing his sandwich together and taking a bite out of it, Chad held up a finger to Troy, telling him to give him a minute.

After swallowing, he said, "You can, but you're in the public eye. Normal people get away with hooking up with random girls, but you're not normal. And you've been given this reputation that everyone in LA tries to avoid. Just, I don't know, be more discreet about it"

Troy poured some milk into his cereal and sighed. He didn't want to be given this playboy reputation. It wasn't fair. His teammate was way more of a player than he was, but just because he was a starting point guard, his gets publicized more.

"You know what? I'm done meeting all these girls and hanging out with them, casually hooking up with them. The next girl I hook up with is going to be my girlfriend"

Chad nearly choked on his sandwich when he heard Troy say that. He got the closest cup of water near him and swallowed.

"Wait did I hear that correctly?"

"Yeah man, I'm done. I'm sick of all these girls with no emotional attachment and being stories in magazines that aren't even close to the truth. You know I'm not a bad guy, I just haven't found the right girl"

Chad put his arms up in defense, "No, man, I know you're not. It was just a bit surprising to hear, you know? For the past few years, you've just been about having fun when we go out. I know you never bring girls home, but you have hooked up with quite a few at the clubs"

Troy shrugged. He didn't care. He was changing his way. He was done as being pegged as a playboy. He had too much going for him.

"And I'm over that. I need something real"


	2. Chapter 2

"Thank you so much Sarah! It went amazing. I can't believe we pulled it off with the short time we had" Gabriella hugged her assistant just as the red carpet for the launch finished. They worked their butts off this past week and everything went smoothly. All the major magazines were there, and also all the major networks. She was proud of her team.

"You're welcome! I think this may have been our best one to date! Let's celebrate. Let's get a drink!"

Gabriella laughed. Every chance Sarah had to drink, she would. They walked inside the venue and headed straight to the bar.

"This place is really nice, and look at all the hot guys!" Sarah gushed.

Gabriella has known Sarah for 2 years and to say she's boy crazy is an understatement. Not only was she crazy about guys, but also they were crazy about her. Which is why Sarah loved coming to these events.

"Come on, let's go sit"

Sarah followed Gabriella's to a booth in the back on the event. It was a nice and quaint area.

As soon as they sat down, Sarah told Gabriella she needed to use the bathroom, "Do you want to come with?"

Gabriella shook her head and waved her off as Sarah swayed her hips to the music and took off towards the restroom.

On the other side of the event, Troy Bolton stood with his basketball buddies, dazing off. He really did not want to be at this event right now. He decides to change his ways and the first place he comes is to an event filled with beautiful girls that are there for his team's fragrance? It wasn't a good situation. And he just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Yo, dude, you okay?"

Troy snapped out of his daze, and glanced over at Chad who was waving his hands in front of his face.

He pushed them away from his face, "Yeah man, I'm fine. Listen, I think I'm going to take off. I'm not really in the mood to be here"

Chad laughed, thinking Troy was just messing around with him. And when Troy's face was still blank, he knew it wasn't a joke.

"Wait, you're serious? Man, I didn't think you were being serious earlier. You know can't stay away, the girls love you"

Sighing, Troy ran his hand throw his hair and put his drink down on the table. He could stay away if he really wanted to. Troy was pretty popular in high school and every girl would jump at the opportunity to date him. But he jumped at the opportunity to date Michelle Cruz, captain of the volleyball team and student body president. He was crazy about her, and spent every waking minute thinking about her, wanting to be with her, not wanting to imagine life without her. And then he had to because he found out she cheated on him with the captain of the football team. Devastated isn't even the proper word to describe how he was feeling. He looked like a fool for falling so hard. He hated not having control over the situation. He hated that she took advantage of him. He hated that he gave her his all. And he hated _her._ Then Katherine Miller happened. It was his sophomore year at UCLA and she was a soccer player. They clicked right away, and for the next 8 months, leading into his junior year, they were inseparable. But of course, Troy was cursed and she ended up cheating on him for the last month of the relationship. He didn't understand why someone would cheat. Why not break it off first? But from then on, he felt like he couldn't trust any girl so why not be the one in charge? Flings that don't mean anything became Troy's thing. No emotional attachment, no labels, no hearts broken. He got through the rest of college like that, and he didn't care. And those were the only two girls he has ever slept with. Which is why he HATED how he was portrayed in the media because it couldn't be further from the truth.

"Yeah, Chad, I can"

Troy's stern response caught him off guard a bit. The old Troy was coming back. The Troy he knew in high school and some of college. He hoped for his sake he would just be careful. He would hate to see him go through what he went through again.

"Okay, man, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow"

Troy nodded and waved as he made his way to the exit. He just wanted to get home and sleep as fast as he can.

* * *

"Ashley's coming right now!"

Gabriella looked up and saw Sarah standing over her with a drink in her hand. _Great. Now she'll never want to leave._ She was a little annoyed. Here she was, tired from this weeks hard work and all she wanted to do was go get some food and go to sleep. But her assistant had so much energy and wanted to stay longer.

"Look, Sarah, I'm really tired. I think I'm going to head home"

Sarah frowned a bit, "But it's just getting fun" she lifted Gabriella off her seat and took her hands, "let's dance"

Gabriella chuckled and backed away, "No, I'm sorry, I'm just so tired"

Frowning again, Sarah gave in, "Fine, I understand, Ashley's coming anyway. I'll see you Monday?"

Gabriella nodded and gave her a hug. She gathered her purse and coat and headed towards the door.

Making her way through the sea of people was not an easy task. There were people everywhere swarming the dance floor, hooking up, and socializing. So it was no surprise that she bumped into someone and nearly lost her balance and ate shit. Luckily, someone grabbed her by the waist and held her up. She turned back and her eyes were met with the bluest of blue eyes. Their eyes locked for what seems to be eternity, but after a few seconds, they broke apart.

"Are you okay?"

Gabriella looked back to the guy standing in front of her. She couldn't believe it, and Sarah was going to die when she found out, seeing as she would have wanted this.

After grabbing her purse from the ground, and fixing herself, Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You got to be more careful, if I wasn't here to catch you, you might be on your way to the emergency room"

Gabriella couldn't help but give a little smile along with a laugh. It could have been true. She was caught so off guard; maybe she would have broken something.

"I'm Troy, by the way"

Her eyes shifted from his face to his hand, which was being extended out for her to shake. Slowly reaching for it, she smiled.

"Um, yeah. I'm…"

"Gabriella Montez. The girl who put this whole thing together. And most events I attend. And the first person to ever own a very successful PR company at 25. Very impressive"

She was a little taken aback by this. THEE Troy Bolton knew who she was? Yeah, sure she put this event together and other major events that he was probably at over the years. And she was a socialite in Hollywood, but she was definitely not a celebrity so it was a little weird that he knew who she was. But she was not going to show it.

"Well, someone's got to pay my college loans. Thanks, for uh, helping me out. Enjoy the rest of your teammates event"

Troy was a bit confused. Not to be conceited, but girls always threw themselves at him and he was not used to one walking away just like that. Not only was she by far the most beautiful girl he has ever come in contact with, but she also wasn't throwing herself at him. This was new and different and he liked it.

After a few seconds of standing there, shocked, Troy immediately decided to follow her out.

"Hey!"

Gabriella turned around, only to find Troy Bolton approaching her. She was confused. What could he possibly want?

"Yeah?"

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Troy nervously asked her if she could like to grab a cup of coffee or get something to eat.

As much as Gabriella was hungry, there was no way she was going to go with him. She couldn't.

"I don't think so," she told him, as she turned the corner and headed to the parking garage to find her car.

Troy didn't know what he was doing wrong. Was he not being nice enough? Did she have a boyfriend?

"Oh do you have a boyfriend or something?"

Gabriella kept walking, looking up and down the aisles for her car, "No, no, I'm just not interested."

_Ouch._ Troy's ego was definitely bruised, and he was slightly taken aback. He couldn't help but to think what he was doing wrong. He had to know.

"What am I doing wrong?"

She finally found the aisle where her car was parked and stopped in front of it, and then turned back to face Troy. She was not going to let herself get played by Hollywood's biggest heartthrob and playboy.

"Look, Troy, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all, but I'm not the kind of girl you take home on the first night. There were some girls in there who were gushing over how cute you are and I'm sure they wouldn't mind a one night stand. So why don't you go find one of them and have a good time?"

So that was it. Troy figured why she was being cold towards him. Of course she reads magazines and knows what they're saying; she works with celebrities all the time. Also, Hollywood is a small town when it comes to celebrities.

"I'm not sure if you heard me correctly, or not, but I asked you if you wanted to get coffee. I don't know if you've ever done that before, but it's very PG"

Gabriella pursed her lips together, trying to think of what to tell him. A cup of coffee wouldn't hurt would it? _No, I can't. _She decided against it, and pulled her keys out of her purse. She opened her car door and hopped in, "You don't even know me."

Troy smiled, "Which is why I'm asking you to get a cup of coffee. No one's ever walked away from me like that"

She started her car, leaving the door open still, and turned to him and smiled. "Well I guess there's a first time for everything. I'll see you around Troy Bolton." She closed the door, and within minutes, she was out of the parking structure and far enough for Troy to realize that they were indeed not getting coffee. But this only made him want her more. And he was so mad that she just left.


	3. Chapter 3

"Gabriella, why the fuck have you not told me about Troy Bolton asking you out last weekend?!" Sarah angrily asked her, as she made her way into her office Friday morning.

Gabriella looked up from her computer, where she was responding to some e-mails, and stared blankly at her assistant. "What?"

Sarah took a seat on the sofa chair in front of her, and calmed down a little bit. "Sorry. But why did Amanda just tell me that Troy Bolton asked you out? Why didn't I know about this?"

Gabriella laughed and closed the internet window on her computer, and switched gears to some folders sitting in front of her, where she had lists and pictures of venues for some events coming up.

"Well, first of all, he didn't ask me out on a date and second of all, because of this. You're freaking out and it's really not a big deal. I didn't go."

Sarah couldn't even sit on the chair anymore. She didn't go out with the hottest guy ever? Was she crazy?! She desperately just wanted to slap some sense into her, physically. "Why not?! Do you know how many girls would have died for that? Let me start that list with ME!"

"Sarah, calm down. It's Troy Bolton for crying out loud. You know I'm a relationship kind of girl"

"Yes, Gabi, I know," Sarah told her, trying to stay as calm as she possibly could, "But it's TROY BOLTON. Who cares if it's a one night stand. He's that good looking"

Gabriella couldn't help, but laugh. Sarah's logic was so humorous to her, but she didn't think she was joking. Troy Bolton is that good looking, but she's also not dumb.

"Oh well, guess I missed my chance"

Sarah paced by and forth, "Oh please, you know how you see someone and then you start seeing them everywhere? I bet this is what's going to happen!"

Gabriella kept rifling through her papers, continuing to look at venues, and wanting to get off this subject. She was making this a bigger issue than it is, and she just didn't care if he asked her out or if she saw him again.

"Look, he and I just happened to be leaving at the same time. We've been to tons of events together and have never come in contact, I doubt it's going to change. And I don't even care. I have to get back to planning for next week. I'm thinking about The Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood. That's good, right?"

Sarah sat down again, dropping the whole subject since she knew Gabriella didn't care about it at all. "Yeah, I think that's good. Who's it for again?"

"Chace Crawfords 27th birthday, but he's also endorsing some new brand of vodka. It's gonna be an all-out bash. Movie stars galore. Your kind of people"

Sarah blushed. She had hooked up with some movie stars in the past, but she was so drunk, she didn't even remember. Which made everything so much worse.

"Shut up!" Sarah told her as she got up and walked towards the door, "I just came in here to yell at you, but since you don't seem to care, I'm going to get back to work. Drinks later at Chateu Marmont?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, Ashley's meeting us there."

Sarah shot her a thumbs up back and walked out, closing the door behind her. She was glad to be getting drinks with Ashley since she didn't get to see her at the event last weekend. Ashley Tisdale was an actress and one of Gabriella's best friends. Sure, Gabriella is more behind the scenes, but she's friends with celebs. Gabriella was also glad Sarah dropped the whole Troy situation. She hadn't even thought about it until she brought it up because that's how much she didn't care. She didn't need to date, especially a guy with that kind of reputation.

* * *

"Chad!" Troy yelled for his friend as he walked through his house, "Where the fuck are you?"

Chad emerged from his game room, "Calm down, I'm right here"

Troy was annoyed for multiple reasons. This morning, his mom made him feel guilty for not going home to visit her and his dad since it's off season. Then his coach informed him they had gotten a new player for the upcoming season which could be a disadvantage since they're not used to playing together. And finally, he had just gotten a parking ticket for taking too long at the gym.

"Sorry, I'm just stressed," Troy told him as he made his way to Chad's kitchen to get something to drink, "We were last season's champions, why the hell are we messing with our team?"

Chad followed Troy, and got a water bottle out of the fridge and tossed it to him, and then proceeded to get one for himself. "I know, it's stressful but Brown's one of the best defenders. And it works out since Allen's injured and it doesn't seem like he's getting better anytime soon"

Troy knew Chad was right, but still, it's always hard when a new player comes into play because it could mess up the team's dynamic. He just had to keep positive and try to adjust as well as possible. They had 4 months to do so.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just been a stressful day"

Chad walked out of his kitchen towards his living room, where Troy followed him, and plopped down on the couch. "Well get unstressed cause we have Chace's birthday party tonight"

Troy threw his head back, and groaned. He did not feel like going out. But Chace was his boy, and he would never miss his birthday party.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that"

Chad flipped through the channels, "Man what is wrong with you? Usually during off season, you're always out and about, but now the only place you go is the gym."

Troy took a gulp of his water, and stared straight ahead at the TV, thinking back to last off season where he would go out all the time. He had no commitments, the only one was to have fun. And he definitely did that.

"I don't know, man. I'm just sick of being in every single magazine and gossip site and I'm sick of being pegged as some womanizer or playboy. I'm over it."

Chad couldn't relate because Troy was a much bigger deal than he was. But he felt for him. He's been his best friend since middle school and he knows Troy better than anyone else. The Troy going out, hooking up with girls, is not the real Troy. That's the Troy that's been deeply hurt in the past. The Troy he knows is the relationship type, who will put his girlfriend before him at anytime, anywhere. He felt bad at the way he was being portrayed, but it had never bothered Troy because he knew the truth. But a guy could only take so much. So to Chad, it made sense that he was laying low for the past few weeks. And he didn't hate it. He just hadn't seen the old Troy for a while.

"I can't even imagine what you go through with all these tabloids, but I think it's good you're laying low. You can't miss Chace's party though, he's been our boy since high school."

Troy shook his head. "No, I'm not. Just probably not going to stay long. I'm thinking aboutdriving to New Mexico tomorrow morning."

"Finally visiting your parents?"

Troy got up, getting ready to leave, "Yep. Figured I'd spend the week over there. I haven't done that in a while."

"Yeah, yeah, that's good," Chad told him, "are you drinking tonight?"

Troy shook his head, "No, I don't feel like getting a driver."

Chad nodded his head. That's one thing Chad loved about Troy. He was this big celebrity, this amazing basketball player, but he was so humble and down to earth. He never used his name to get reservations at restaurants, he only hired a driver when he needed to, he doesn't have any maids, and he volunteers at the children's hospital as much as he can. And he thought it was a shame how badly he was portrayed in the media. But that's LA for you.

"I should have know," he laughed, "Okay I'll see ya tonight man!"

* * *

"Sarah, I'm stressing the fuck out!" Gabriella ran from the other side of the room over to Sarah who was sitting at a table going over the guest list, "The banner for the product isn't here, and this event is in a few hours."

This was typical Gabriella. Instead of staying calm, and trying to figure out a solution with a calm mind, she freaked out and stressed herself even more. This was where Sarah usually came in and helped.

"Okay, you need to chill," Sarah told her as she got up and put her hands on Gabriella shoulders, "Take a deep breath, and calm down. People are not arriving for another two hours. That's plenty of time. I know it was supposed to be here an hour ago, but things happen. I'll call them, and you finish out front with the red carpet. Okay?"

Gabriella shook her head, "No, I already called them Sarah! Why do you think I'm freaking out?!"

"Well I'll keep trying. Go out front and just calm down or you're going to ruin this"

She listened to Sarah and went outside to calm down. She had been working on this event for a month, she had more than enough time to perfect everything, so that's why she was a little stressed out, but she knew it wasn't good to stress. She just needed a minute to herself.

* * *

Troy got to Chace's birthday party just as everyone was starting to walk the red carpet. But red carpets weren't his thing, unless the event was his, or it had something to do with his team.

He saw a few of his friends walking the red carpet, people snapping pictures of them, but he really was not in the mood for picture taking or having attention on him, so he slipped through the back and headed towards the entrance of the hotel. And as soon as he opened the door, he came face to face with Gabriella who was on her way out.

"Hey"

Gabriella was so caught off guard that she didn't even realize what had come out of her mouth.

"Um, I'm here because Chace is my buddy," Troy laughed

Of course, Gabriella thought. She felt so stupid and she didn't even know why she even asked. "Oh right. All celebrities are friends in this town"

Gabriella made her way around Troy and was headed towards the red carpet to make sure everything was running smoothly. Of course, she was looking at it from the side. She did not want to come out in any pictures.

"Actually," Troy let go of the door and followed her, "Chace and I went to high school together."

Gabriella wondered where the heck he went to school because Chace was good looking as well. Did they just go to a school where only good looking people could attend?

"Look, Troy, I'm working. If you're done with the red carpet, please move along," she told him as she tip toed to see over the people who was walking the carpet so she could see who else was in line.

Troy stood next to her, watching along, "Oh I don't really do red carpet, not my thing"

Gabriella glanced over at him to see if he was serious or not, and strangely, she believed him. But what celebrity doesn't do red carpets? Especially someone as big as him? Gabriella didn't want to admit this to him, but she really admired that. She also didn't want to be rude, but she was working, and she didn't have time to talk to him.

"Then go inside and enjoy yourself"

Troy nodded his head, "Yeah, I will. Come look for me inside, I'll buy you a drink if you want"

And with that, he turned away and walked inside. Gabriella still didn't understand why in the world he would want her when he could have his pick of any girl who was willing to have him. But she shook off the idea and continued doing her work. She didn't need any distractions.

* * *

"Sarah, where have you been?" Gabriella asked her assistant about an hour and a half into the party, "It turned out perfectly. Thank you so much!"

Sarah hugged her and told her it would. "I've been with Ash, do you want a drink or something? Oh Gabs.."

"Yeah?" she answered Sarah as she looked around the room looking at everyone who was there. It was a good turnout and she was so happy.

"Um, okay so you're not going to like this, but your flight home got canceled. Apparently it was over packed, and they had to kick the people who bought the last 5 tickets off. I tried searching for other flights, but nothing came up."

"What?!" Gabriella practically yelled, and then realized she was in a public place so she said it quieter, "what? are you serious?"

Sarah nodded her head and felt so bad, "Yeah, I'm sorry. They said you can try tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but you already had so much on your plate"

Gabriella was glad she didn't tell her earlier or she might have gotten an ulcer. She was so annoyed. Can an airline do that? All she wanted to do was go home for a few days or a week and have some downtime with her parents and siblings. And then this happened.

"No, no, it's not your fault. Thanks for trying though. I guess I'm going to have to go home and try again," Gabriela told her, "Hey I'm going to go say hi to a few people and then I'm out. Thanks for everything."

Sarah nodded and leaned in for a hug, "Of course. Call me tomorrow! Love you"

"Love you too," Gabriella called out to her as she turned around and walked towards some friends. After saying hi to everyone she needed to, she went to gather her belongings to head home. And just her luck, as she was leaving, the famous Troy Bolton was too.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked her

Gabriella threw on her jacket and searched her purse for some chapstick. Even though she just wanted to get home and fix this whole flight issue, she wasn't going to be rude to him like she had been the past couple of times.

"Yeah, um, have a few things to take care of," she told him, "Not having fun?"

Troy shoved his phone into his pockets, along with his hands, "Um, no I was, you throw good parties, I just have an early morning"

Gabriella nodded as she applied her chapstick and then tucked it back into her purse. And for the first time, she was realizing just how good looking Troy Bolton was. And was silently thinking to herself if she was the stupidest person ever to reject having coffee with him. But then reminded herself that it was the best decision. She didn't need to be another notch on his belt.

"Chace isn't going to care you're leaving so early?"

Troy laughed a little bit as they both started walking towards the back of the hotel, "No, he's got a lot more people in there. Plus he knew I had to leave early"

Gabriella smiled and nodded. Just as she was about to say something her phone rang. "Sorry" She answered it only to hear Sarah on the other line.

"Yeah? Sarah, I'm not going to fly to Texas and then drive to New Mexico, that's such a waste of money. It'd be better to just drive from here. No, the whole reason for booking a flight was because I didn't want to drive 11 hours by myself! Okay, sorry, I know. But no, don't book it. I'll figure something out. Or I'll just leave Monday or something if I have to. Okay, thanks. Bye"

Troy couldn't help but to overhear. He was standing a few feet away from her, after all. New Mexico? Was she going to New Mexico? Why was she going? He wanted to know everything.

"Sorry," she told him as she hung up and threw her phone in her purse, "What were you saying?"

Troy shook his head, implying it was unimportant, "You're going to New Mexico?"

She looked at him, wondering why he was asking, why he would care, but she slowly nodded her head, "Yeah. Well, trying. There's no flights. I'm way too lazy to drive"

Troy couldn't believe they were both headed to New Mexico tomorrow. "Why are you going?"

"Visiting my family. I'm from there"

If Troy had something in his mouth, he would have choked on it right there and then. She was from New Mexico? Like he was? Why did he not know her? Did they go to the same high school?

"No way, I am too!"

Gabriella smiled, "Seriously?" There were a lot of celebrities in LA that weren't originally from LA, but she hardly knew anyone who was from New Mexico. And this made her happy. New Mexico was her favorite place in the entire world.

"Yeah!," Troy told her, "Albuquerque. This is crazy. You're going tomorrow?"

They were now by the parking structure, and Gabriella was waiting for the valet to bring her car, and same with Troy. "Yeah, but maybe probably Monday now, I don't know"

Troy didn't know what came over him, he knew Gabriella was not interested at all, but he thought he would offer anyway. He felt like he should, like he should help her out.

"Hey, listen, I'm actually headed out there tomorrow too, which is why I'm leaving this thing early. I'm driving and if you want... you're more than welcome to tag along"

The minute Troy told her, she actually considered it. She was _that _desperate. But then as she processed it more, she didn't know if she should. She barely knew this guy, they would be stuck in a car together for 11 hours, and again, she barely knew him!

"Troy, I barely know you," she told him, trying to sound as polite as possible.

He couldn't disagree. They barely knew each other, but he really was just trying to help her out. "Look I know you're not interested, you've made that pretty clear... I'm just trying to help you out. You know airports on Monday's are the worst in LA"

He had a point. She hated airports, especially on Monday, but on the other hand, she barely knew him! How could she spend 11 hours with him pretending that it's normal?

"I know," she told him, "It's just..."

"Do I peg you as a bad guy?" he interrupted her, which resulted her to say, "Seriously?"

Troy immediately felt dumb for even asking that. He already knew she thought he was this bad guy, so he had to rephrase himself.

"Okay, do I peg you as a dangerous guy?"

No, he didn't peg Gabriella as a dangerous guy at all, but she just didn't know if she should. Something inside of her was telling her to just do it, but something else was telling her not to.

"No, you don't. Um, how about I think it over and let you know in a little bit?" she told him as she saw her car pull up, and then took her phone out to get his number.

Troy smiled. At least she was going to consider it. He took out his phone as well, and after they exchanged numbers, she walked towards her car and then turned back and gave him a smile. "Thanks"

Troy smiled back at her and watched as she got into her car.


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriella got home and threw her heels off. It had been such a long and stressful day, and to top it off... unusual. She never would have picture her having a conversation with Troy Bolton, but for him to offer a ride to New Mexico? It was so out of left field for her, but she was actually considering it. She had no other choice. But she needed an extra mind to help her decide.

Grabbing her cell phone out of her purse, she went to her recent calls and scrolled down and hit 'call'

"Sarah? Are you sober? Okay, good can you come over? K see you in a few. Thanks"

Gabriella went to her bedroom and changed into comfortable clothes and then went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of red wine to unwind.

About 20 minutes later, Sarah arrived and Gabriella desperately needed her help to make a decision.

"Gabs, what's wrong?"

Gabriella let her in and told her to come sit on her couch with her, "No, no, nothing. I just need your advice on what I should do concerning something"

Sarah raised an eyebrow, a little confused at what was going on. "Okay? Spill"

Gabriella took a sip of her wine and then set it on her coffee table and brought her legs up to her and sat Indian style on her couch, trying to get comfortable.

"Don't freak out okay? But um on my way out, I ran into Troy and he kind of overheard out conversation and turns out, he's from New Mexico as well and was planning on going tomorrow and he offered me a ride."

Sarah desperately wanted to scream and jump up and down and hug the shit out of her, but she had to refrain from doing so. But she could tell Gabriella was serious about needing help so it was no time to mess around.

"Well, obviously you know what I think, but if you're questioning it then it sounds like you don't really want to?" Sarah reasoned.

Sarah was right. Gabriella didn't really want to. She couldn't stand the thought of being stuck in a car for 11 hours with someone she barely knows. Especially someone who tried hitting on her. She didn't want to fall under his charm. But she needed to get to New Mexico so that's the only reason she did want to.

"I've never asked because I don't care, but what's he like?"

Sarah smiled. She was finally able to talk about Troy Bolton without Gabriella shutting her up. "Well, according to magazines and pictures, he's a ladies man and a residential playboy. But I hear he's really nice, very down to earth, and again, really nice. You know Molly? Well her sister's friend went to Katsuya for her anniversary with her boyfriend, but I guess they forgot to put down her reservation and Troy was there waiting for his table and supposedly he just gave it to them and walked out of the restaurant with his manager. I don't see why someone would make the story up, but yeah. I guess you could be a good guy, but still be a ladies man"

Gabriella took a minute to digest this information. Okay, so he was nice, down to earth, but a ladies man? She really didn't want to be stuck in a car with her if every other minute he was trying to hit on her. But a little part of her wanted to be.

"Okay, so he's nice. That's good," she told Sarah, "Um what do you think I should do? For real?"

Sarah thought she should go. Gabriella could use a little fun, and she wanted to go back to New Mexico so badly. If this was the only way, then she should.

"Gabs, just go. It's really not that big of a deal. Once you get there, you part ways and that'll be that. Or you could have some fun. There's nothing wrong with hooking up with someone once, ya know?"

No, there wasn't. And Gabriella knew that. But this was Troy Bolton. He was in the media all the time so she knew he was a playboy. If she met a random guy at the club, she wouldn't know his past at all. She wouldn't know how many girls he's been. It was different.

"Whatever, I'll just go. It's cheaper than booking a flight"

Sarah smiled. "Great! You have to fill me in on everything okay?" she got up to leave since it was getting pretty late.

Gabriella got up with her and escorted her out the door, "Thanks for coming. I'm surprised you're not getting hammered and enjoying yourself"

Sarah sighed, "I wish. It was a fun party, but I have my yoga class tomorrow and my teacher said that if I come hungover one more time, she's kicking me out. Hell no, I paid a lot of money for that shit"

Gabriella laughed. Sarah was too much at times, but she was grateful for her friendship.

"You're crazy, but thanks again. I'll text you tomorrow"

She closed the door and locked it, and then made her way back to her couch. Picking up her phone, she took a deep breath, and scrolled down her contacts to send a text to Troy.

**I'm in. **

It was simple and to the point. And not a minute later, he had texted back which surprisingly, gave Gabriella a bit of butterflies. And she didn't know why. Of course he was good looking, but she would never go there.

**Great. Is 8 too early for you? **

On a Sunday, yes, it was too early for her. But she wasn't going to be picky. It was his car, his trip, she was just tagging along. Plus she could sleep on the way.

**No, I'll be ready. 4733 Bonvue Ave, Los Feliz. Numbers are kind of hard to see, so just look for a red door and black car in the driveway. **

She couldn't believe she just gave her address out to someone she barely knew, but what the hell, her decisions lately weren't making sense and she just didn't care anymore. It took him a little longer to text back this time and she found herself getting a little bit annoyed. But he finally did.

**Thanks. And don't worry about packing lightly for my sake, my car's pretty roomy. I'll see you bright and early. **

What the fuck? Gabriella thought. It's like he was reading her mind. She wanted to take two little suitcases so she could do a bit of shopping over there, but she felt bad having so much crap so she was going to just take one. She was so relieved and happy.

**Goodnight. **She simply texted back.

* * *

"Whenever you need to stop for gas, I'll pay," Gabriella told Troy as soon as they hit the road next morning. It was around 8:30 and they had just gotten some bagels, magazines and snacks to go and were on their way home. Surprisingly from the minute Troy came to pick her up til now, she felt so comfortable. And she was starting to realize that she probably won't regret her decision to join him on this road trip.

Troy merged onto the freeway, looked over his shoulder for oncoming traffic and then switched lanes. Once he was settled on the freeway, he glanced over at Gabriella and shook his head, "No, don't worry about it, I invited you"

"No, really, I want to," she insisted

Troy smiled over at her, "We'll see about that," and then lowered the radio just a tad, "So why don't I know you from Albuquerque?"

Gabriella shrugged and riffled through her bag in search of her phone, "I went to private school, Albuquerque Academy"

"Oh no wonder, I went to East High. Don't you ever just want to move back? It's so peaceful compared to LA."

Gabriella found it a little strange that he said that since he was always out and about in LA, which made it seem like he loved it so much. But she realized that maybe she doesn't have him figured out.

"Yeah I do," she told him as she went through her text messages, "LA can be too much at times, but it's better for work"

"Yeah, true," Troy looked over his shoulder again to make sure it was clear to switch onto the carpool lane, "So you came to LA right after high school or what?

"Yeah, I went to USC, graduated early and next thing I knew, I had this company to run. I never would have suspected it... you know, coming from Albuquerque. I always thought I'd come back, be a lawyer here, since that's what I wanted to be most of high school. But yeah, it's been amazing"

Troy was impressed. Not only was USC an amazing school, but to graduate early? That must have taken so much hard work and dedication. And he also knew what she was talking about. He always thought he'd come back to Albuquerque. It was hard leaving in the first place.

"I get you, I always thought I'd want to come back, but things just started happening and I couldn't leave."

Gabriella laughed, "No way, who would want to stop playing for the Lakers?"

Troy glanced over at her and let out a laugh, "Believe it or not, I actually liked playing ball at UCLA much better. And at East High. Stress free"

"Well yeah, but wasn't UCLA stressful? I mean, you had a scholarship to live up to. Weren't you concerned about playing your best every time?"

Troy's mood went from content to a little opposite of that. He wasn't annoyed or mad, he was just confused. Why did she think he got a scholarship? Did she think he wasn't smart enough to actually get into UCLA himself? That hurt him a bit, but he wasn't going to get mad at her, she barely knows him so how could she know anything about his life?

"Um, actually I wasn't at UCLA on a scholarship. I got in all by myself, believe it or not," Troy didn't know if he came off a little bitchy, that was not his intention, but he couldn't help it if he did.

Gabriella immediately felt bad. She could sense the coldness in his voice and regretted saying what she said.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. It's just, most basketball players that play at schools on scholarships usually go on and play professional. I shouldn't assume," she told him, still feeling bad. If she was being honest, he didn't peg her as someone who could get into UCLA based on what she knew about him.

Troy lightened up a bit and decided not to get worked up over the comment. It was a fair assumption since he does have this playboy image in LA that makes him seem like all he cares about is girls and basketball.

"No, it's fine. Yeah, most basketball players do, but I didn't go to UCLA with the intention of getting of playing basketball. I was majoring in biology, in hopes of being a doctor one day, and playing basketball as well. I mean I grew up playing basketball. I loved the game so much. I couldn't just give it up. So I played. My junior year, I got approached by the Laker's coach and it was a really long, hard decision but I decided to play for them instead of going off to Medical School. I knew this would happen for sure. My plans of being a doctor? I wasn't so sure, I couldn't see into the future. It just felt right."

Gabriella was a little taken aback. She had no idea Troy that's how Troy got into playing professional basketball. And definitely did not know his plans of being a doctor. But how could she? The media doesn't focus on positive things about people, especially if they're an easy target to scrutinize. She felt bad for judging him and she realized she shouldn't just a book by it's cover because it could turn out to be so different. And that's how Troy was turning out to be.

"It's hard when you're stuck between two things you love doing. But eventually things will fall into place, and I'm sure they did. I mean, you look like you're enjoying life"

Troy laughed, knowing she was referring to all these headlines about him, "I am, but definitely not the way it's portrayed in the media"

"Hey, I'm not judging. You're free to do what you want," she told him.

Troy kept his eyes on the road, making sure he didn't miss his exit, "I know, it's just... never mind"

"What?" Gabriella asked, wanting to know what he was going to say

Troy shook his head, "No, nothing"

He wasn't in the mood to explain himself to her, because in reality, he couldn't. I mean, there were pictures of him with girls, hanging out, hugging them. So it was hard to deny he was a player. Even though he wasn't. He never dated two girls at once. He never hooked up with a girl and then hooked up with another one the same day. He didn't even sleep with them. And what was he supposed to tell Gabriella? That he's changed? It didn't matter, because she made it clear she wasn't interested. He never wanted to sell himself to anyone.

Gabriella dropped it too, not wanting to push it. If he didn't want to talk about something, she wasn't going to make him. She continued going through her text messages, replying back to some of them as Troy kept on driving.


	5. Chapter 5

Gabriella had been asleep for the past 4 hours. If there was something she could do well, it was sleep. And since she didn't get much of it last night, she was glad to have slept that long.

"What time is it?" she asked Troy groggily, before letting out a yawn and stretching her arms out in front of her, "And where are we?"

Troy glanced over at her, happy that she was finally awake. He was getting a little bored, but more than that, he was hungry and he wanted to stop to get some food.

"It's about 1. And we are almost halfway through Arizona. Another 7 hours maybe. Are you hungry?"

Gabriella checked her phone, and realized she had a few missed calls from Sarah and a couple of texts from her sister and mom. Crap. Please don't let there be a problem at work. She thought.

"Yeah, I can eat. Sorry, I have to call my work. I'm down for whatever," she told him as she pressed 'called' on her iPhone. A few seconds later Sarah answered, "Sarah, what's up? Sorry, I was sleeping! I mean, I'm not working or anything so why can't I sleep for 4 hours? Okay whatever, what'd you need? No, that event is being pushed back a week and the one at The Hilton needs to be done and finalized by Thursday, it's on Saturday! No, I'm not going, you said you guys could handle it. Don't let me down Sarah. Okay I'll text you later, thanks. Love ya"

She hung up the phone and prayed to God that they could handle everything. She hated taking vacations from work, but she needed them at times, and she trusted her team. Plus, she'd much rather be at home with her family.

"Sorry about that, have you decided?"

"It's okay, and yeah, are you down for some Mexican food? My gps is showing me a couple of restaurants here." he told her, and then clicked on one of the places, "it's about another 10, 15 minutes"

"Okay," she told him as she started replying to some of her texts, "that sounds good"

* * *

30 minutes later, they were seated at a restaurant getting their drinks. They had both ordered their food and were now just waiting on it. The comfortableness slowly started to fade for Gabriella since that comment she made earlier about Troy getting into college on a scholarship. She felt bad, and she should have never assumed. So it was a little awkward for her and she wanted to move past it.

"Look, about earlier," she told him, while playing with her straw wrapper, "I don't even know why I assumed you got in on a scholarship. It's such a stupid stereotype and I'm sorry. But in my defense, normally really good looking people are not that smart"

Troy laughed, "Well because of that compliment, I'll forgive you. But what's your excuse?"

Gabriella loosened up a bit, starting to feel more comfortable, "Shut up"

He laughed again, not knowing how she could possibly find herself anything but beautiful. He didn't need an apology from her, it was a typical stereotype and he was used to it. He got it all the time.

"Well, thanks I guess. It's not that big of a deal, though, I'm used to it"

Gabriella took a sip of her coke and nodded, "So what was East High like? I knew a couple people that went there"

Troy placed his phone on the table and slid it to the side, "I liked it. I had a solid group of friends that have been my friends since forever, and of course, there was my basketball team. It was a small school, as you probably know, so everyone really got along with everyone. It was fun, I miss it"

Gabriella had almost gone to East High, but she had been at her private school since elementary and she didn't want to leave any of her friends or her soon-to-be-boyfriend Jacob. And she was glad she stayed, because her sophomore year, Jacob finally asked her out. But at the same time, she wanted to meet new people, be able to dress how she wanted, try new things.

"I almost went to East High, but I just couldn't leave my friends. It's hard to be the new girl, you know?"

Troy nodded his head, "Yeah, yeah, but East High's good about welcoming people. If you did, what sports would you have played?"

"Volleyball," she told him, "Or maybe soccer. I like soccer more, but for some reason, I'm good at volleyball so I like playing"

Troy's face went straight a little bit. Both of those sports were sports his ex girlfriends used to play. And memories just came flooding back, especially because he was on his way to New Mexico.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, noticing something was clearly bothering him. Was it something I said?

Troy nodded his head, slowly, "No, yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Did I say something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No, no. My ex girlfriend played Volleyball, and I guess memories just came rushing back. But I'm fine. Sorry, continue..."

For a moment, Gabriella wondered if she had gone to East High, if she would have liked that Troy. Or if he was the same womanizing guy he is today. But she quickly brushed that thought off.

"Oh maybe we would have been friends," she tried joking to ease the mood up a little bit, "but yeah, I heard you guys had a good volleyball team. Well, actually every sports team was good"

Troy smiled a bit, forgetting about Michelle, and focusing on the present, "Not to brag, but we were pretty good. Especially the basketball team. State champions four years in a row."

Gabriella laughed and took another sip of her drink, "I should have gone to a game then."

Troy smiled. "You should have"

* * *

"How far away are we now? I'm so tired!"

Troy looked over at Gabriella who was reading a magazine and sipping on some Starbucks. "First of all, you're not the one driving so don't complain that you're tired. Second of all, we're about 3 hours away. And third of all, why are you reading those magazines? It's all lies."

"I like to look through them and see if the events we host make it in them so I could feel even more proud of myself. This magazine is three weeks old, but I just haven't gotten around to looking through them yet," she told him as she continued to flip through the pages. And sure enough, the event she hosted before Troy's teammates was in the magazine, showing pictures of Mario Lopez advertising his new cologne. Flipping through more pages, Gabriella stumbled upon a story about Troy. "Well, look who it is. Superstar Troy Bolton"

Troy groaned and glanced over to see what she was talking it. It was a picture of him in front of his house with three girls.

"Troy Bolton, point guard for The Lakers, is known as quite the ladies' man and Friday night was no different. Bolton was seen leaving a popular night club with three beautiful girls. A little later on, the same three girls were seen at his house around midnight. Unaware of the paparazzi, he let all three girls in for a few hours before they departed. I guess it's say to say a four-some ensued. Hey if we were as good looking as Bolton, we would be doing the same thing. This man is single and loving it." she read to him, with a laugh.

Troy ran his hand through his hair, hating that he had to relive that story again. He had seen it when it came out and couldn't help but laugh, but at the same time be pissed about it. Those three girls were his sister, cousin, and her sister's friend. Who in their right mind would take three girls home?

"That's such bullshit. And so gross. It was my sister, cousin, and sister's friend. Who takes three girls home?"

Gabriella didn't know what to say. She didn't think any sane person would actually take three girls home, but she didn't know him that well. She didn't know what he was capable of. But if she was being honest, the one girl whose face is shown does look like Troy, so she did, in a weird way, believe him.

"Well, this girl looks like you, so maybe if you set the record straight, they'd actually believe you," she told him

Troy shrugged, "I don't bother to. I mean, it gets under my skin at times, but what the press thinks about me is out of my hands. I went to the Children's Hospital the other day and do they write about it? No, because they already have this image of me."

Gabriella felt bad for him, but at the same time, he did this to himself. If he wasn't hooking up with girls in the club over and over, they wouldn't have anything bad to write about. She did still feel bad for him, though.

"I mean, obviously girls still want you, so these tabloids aren't affecting you," she laughed and continued flipping through the magazine.

Troy stayed quiet and looked over at her, thinking the complete opposite. _They don't want me, they want the feeling of hooking up with a celebrity. And not everyone wants me._

* * *

"Are you down for, like, a late dinner?" Troy asked Gabriella upon arriving to Albuquerque. It was 9 pm and they had made great time considering they stopped for an hour to eat, and then again to grab some fast food. But Troy was hungry and he didn't feel like grabbing take out. He was craving his favorite Italian place which he hadn't had for a while.

"Yeah, I'm starving. That chicken sandwich did NOT fill me up," she told him as she started putting her boots off which she had taken off for the duration of the car ride, "Can we go to Spaggos?"

"No way, that's exactly where I was going to take us!" Troy exclaimed, hoping she would be more than willing to eat some Italian food, "It's my favorite place in town"

Gabriella smiled. It was one of her favorite places too and initially she was bummed because she knew her family would not want to go there with her since they didn't particularly like it. But now she had someone to go with and she was excited. "It's the best!"

Troy parked his car, and was happy to see that it wasn't too crowded. They walked into the restaurant and told the hostess a table for two.

She escorted them to the back, and showed them to their booth. "Your server will be right with you. Enjoy"

"Thank you," they both said in unison.

"I haven't been here in a few months, I hope nothing's changed," Troy told Gabriella as he opened his menu to see what he wanted.

Gabriella shook her head, "I came here about a month and a half ago with a friend and everything seemed the same to me"

As they were both scanning over their menus for their selection, their waiter came to their table and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Troy ordered a coke and Gabriella ordered water.

"I drank too much soda today, I need a break," she told Troy, while still looking over her menu. She couldn't decide it she wanted the lasagna, the spaghetti or the 4-cheese ravioli.

"Yeah, right," he told her insinuating that she had a nice body, "do you know what you want?"

Gabriella brought her hand up with her chin and tapped it with her pointer finger, "Hmm, I'm leaning towards the 4-cheese ravioli"

"Yeah, that sounds good. It's either that or the lasagna for me," he told her

Gabriella closed her menu and pushed it to the side. She decided she wanted the ravioli. "How about I get the ravioli and you get the lasagna and we can share? They're such big portions anyway"

Troy closed his menu as well, "Yeah, yeah, that sounds good"

10 minutes later, they were busy talking about their days in Albuquerque while waiting for their food. Troy glanced around the restaurant and saw his ex girlfriend, Michelle. He was so upset that she was here. He didn't want to see or talk to her. Last time he saw her was 3 months ago and she was trying to get back with him, but he refused and she called him a whole bunch of bad names. He didn't want to go down that road again. Plus, she was starting to see someone at the time. He wasn't going to be the other guy.

"Are you alright?" Gabriella asked him, turning around to see what Troy could possibly be looking at, "Is there someone here you know?"

Troy stayed quiet for a minute, still not coming to terms that he was in the same restaurant Michelle was in. And what made it even worse is that she seemed to be almost done with her meal and to exit the restaurant, she would have to walk by their table.

"Um, my ex girlfriend is here," he told her, "and I don't really care for her. Or want to see her"

Gabriella turned around again, and finally saw her. She was gorgeous with medium-ish brown hair, and a petite figure. It seemed like she was on a date though. And she wondered if Troy was jealous.

"Is it weird seeing her on a date?"

Troy shook his head, "I mean a little bit, considering she was trying to get back with me last time I was in town. But, I just don't care for her anymore. Hopefully she won't say anything to me"

But Troy spoke too soon. Michelle and her date were done eating, and they got up to leave. Troy pretended not to notice her and kept his attention in front of him, on Gabriella, trying to make conversation as she made her way over. Michelle walked right past them, and Troy thought he was off the hook, but she backtracked the minute she realized it was him.

"Troy?" she asked him, standing at the edge of their table with her date.

Troy slowly took his focus off Gabriella and turned to Michelle, "Hey"

Michelle smiled a bit at him, "What are you doing here? Visiting your family?"

He nodded, and then took a sip of his drink. His throat was getting dry. All he wanted was for her to walk away. They had left on bad terms last time so he had no idea why she was talking to him.

"Yeah, it's off-season, so decided to come for a little bit," he told her, hoping that was the last sentence he would have to say to her.

Michelle nodded, gripped on to her boyfriend's hand, and smirked a little bit. "What, are all the girls sick of you in LA?"

There it was. Troy thought. Michelle thought the reason Troy wouldn't give her another chance was because he was too busy with all the girls in LA and that he didn't want to stop having fun with them and that he had this reputation to uphold. And because he didn't want to do the long distance thing. But his reason was because he couldn't trust her. She cheated on him once, surely she'd do it again.

"Michelle, stop," Troy told him, as politely as possible, "don't go there"

"Don't go where, Troy? The truth? You're such a jackass and soon enough every girl is going to realize it. All you care about is yourself and about having fun."

Michelle was ruthless. She would say whatever was on her mind, whenever. She didn't care if it was harsh or mean, she would say it to get a rise out of you. She was like one of those mean girls on TV that you think only exist on TV because of the mean things that come out of their mouth.

"Why don't you just enjoy the rest of your night and let me enjoy mine?" he told her.

Michelle laughed, "Am I getting to you? Tell me, have you had a girlfriend since me? No, huh? All you do is hook up with girls because you're pathetic and can't keep a girl so you spare yourself the embarrassment. Why do you think we broke up? Good thing, because you're nothing but a fame whore who cares about no one."

Gabriella felt really uncomfortable. She could tell Troy was uncomfortable as well, and all he wanted was for her to leave. He didn't know what happened between them, but Michelle was being really harsh to him, and saying things she would never even dream about saying. She felt bad for Troy because no matter how bad their break up was, no one deserved to be talked to like that. He wasn't be harsh to her, so she shouldn't be harsh to him.

"Hi," she chimed in, trying to help Troy out.

Michelle turned and was now slightly facing Gabriella. She knew there was a girl there, but she was mainly focused on Troy. "Hi?"

"I'm Gabriella," she told her with a smile, causing Michelle to raise an eyebrow, "I'm actually Troy's girlfriend so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't say those things"

Troy shot Gabriella a look, wondering what in the world she was doing, but when she shot him back a look meaning 'play along' he did as he was told. Anything to get Michelle off his back and leave.

"Girlfriend?" Michelle asked

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, and Troy here is just being nice, cause you know, he IS nice, but I'm not that nice, so keep insulting him and we'll have a problem. Oh and I'm sorry Troy didn't want to get back with you and rejected you a couple months ago. I guess you can blame me since we were starting to see each other at that time. And guess what? He still has me, so I guess he can keep a girl"

Troy tried to control his laughter. He knew Gabriella had it in her to fight back, but he never would have expected her to do this for him. And he was so thankful, because he would never say that to Michelle no matter how badly he wanted to.

"Because guess what? He really cares about me. He even brought me home to meet his family after three months. How nice, right?"

Michelle's face tensed up a bit, and didn't know what to say or do next. She didn't expect her to speak up. "Whatever," was all she said as she walked away with her boyfriend.

As soon as she walked away, Troy started laughing. He couldn't believe what had just happened, but he was so glad it did.

"Okay that was amazing!," he told her, "thank you"

Gabriella laughed along with him, "You're welcome. She's... ruthless" she told him, "What were you thinking?"

Troy shrugged, not really knowing himself. She was different in high school, but deep down that's exactly how she always was, "I was young and naive. But, thank you. I couldn't really say anything back without sounding like a complete douche"

"Yeah, I saw how badly you were refraining yourself from going off on her. So I thought I'd do it for you"

"You did better than I would've," he told her, "seriously, thank you. I know I totally look pathetic now, like she said, but if it got her to walk away, that's all that matters."

Gabriella smiled and took a sip of her water. It was nothing, really. She felt bad for Troy. No matter how many girls he hooks up with, she could tell her was a good guy, and she felt uncomfortable with someone saying those things to him.

"No, you're not pathetic at all. But it was my pleasure," she told him, "So what happened? Or do you not want to talk about it?"

Troy didn't mind talking about it, but he just didn't want her to feel sorry for him since it happened a long time ago. He was past it and ready to forget about Michelle forever.

"No, I don't mind. It was a long time ago. It's really a simple and short story. We dated for most of the summer through most of senior year up until I found out she was cheating on me. I cut it off, we went our separate ways and yeah."

Gabriella slowly nodded her head, trying to understand what was going on, "Why does she hate you now though?"

Troy shrugged, "I honestly do not know why she was saying those things, but my guess is because a couple of months ago when she wanted to start things up again and I rejected her, she got it in her mind that I did that because all I want to do is hook up with girls and can't be tied down. I really don't know. Do I blame her for thinking those things? No, I'm sure she reads magazines. But that's not the reason... she had me, completely, and she cheated. Why should I give her another chance?"

This time, Gabriella nodded her head in agreement, "No, yeah, it came off as her being bitter about something. I guess that's it. Wow is it rude to say she looks like the cheating type?"

Troy laughed, not really knowing what she meant. He didn't know people could look like cheaters, but he found it funny considering Michelle was one. "No, because she obviously is"

Gabriella laughed as well. She now kind of understood why Troy was the way he was. She didn't know if it was for sure, but she assumed that he hooked up with girls and had no emotional attachment because he's been burned in the past. It doesn't mean that it's right, but she now she may know the reasoning behind it. It also doesn't mean that she'll consider giving him a chance now, because a guy doesn't just change his ways like that. And in all honesty, she didn't even know if he was interested anymore because the whole car trip, he didn't hit on her and he was treating her as a friend. And she didn't know if she liked it or not.


	6. Chapter 6

"I didn't even ask you last night because I was so tired, but how'd you get here?" Gabriella's mom, Maria, asked her the next morning as they were gathering around the kitchen for some breakfast. After dinner, Troy dropped Gabriella off at her parent's house and he went home. He told her he would pick her up on Saturday morning, the day they would be going back home. And she agreed and they went their separate ways.

"A friend," Gabriella simply replied

"A friend?" her father, Jose, asked skeptically as he entered the kitchen upon hearing Maria's question, "And they live here?"

Gabriella nodded and went to the fridge to pour herself some orange juice. She didn't really want to tell them who because her father was a die hard basketball fanatic, and her mom would pester her with questions.

"Gabriella, who brought you home?" her mom asked her once more, and even though she was 25, whatever her parents ask her, she must answer.

"Um, Troy Bolton," she told them as she sat down at the table and picked up a piece of bacon, "And yes, he lives in Albuquerque, too"

Jose Montez immediately turned around and shut the pantry. Troy Bolton?! The Lakers were his favorite team, and Troy Bolton was one of his favorite players. "Are you messing with me?"

Gabriella laughed, knowing her dad would probably think that. "No, it's true. Um I met him at a couple events I threw and one thing led to another and I needed a ride so he offered since he was coming here anyway"

Jose tried to comprehend everything. Not only did his favorite player live in his hometown, but his daughter was his friend?! He felt like a 17 year old girl with a celebrity crush and meeting them. Only he hadn't met him. He went over and sat at the table with his daughter, wanting to know more. "Did you tell him I was a fan?"

Gabriella put down her orange juice and reached for another piece of bacon, "Hell no, that's embarrassing, dad"

Jose nodded, "Okay good. Can I meet him? But like casually, just bring him over and then I'll tell him I'm a fan, but not in a weird way you know?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. Her dad was being such a girl and she didn't know if she found it hilarious or annoying. But she loved him and this would be his dream. "I don't know, I wasn't planning on seeing him until we went back to LA. But I can try?"

Jose poured himself some orange juice, "Yeah, okay, that's fine. It's whatever," he replied, pretending he didn't really care about it anymore cause Maria and Gabriella to laugh.

Maria came over and joined them at the table, and she poured herself a glass of orange juice as well and grabbed a piece of bacon. She was so glad Gabriella was home. Even though she had another daughter at home, and a son in the same town, she missed her oldest daughter. She had her at just 21 so she felt like she grew up with her. "Well I'm glad you're home mija, and I'm sorry your dad and I have to go the funeral today, but it's something we just can't get out of you know?"

Gabriella nodded her head, completely understanding, "No, yeah, yeah, it's fine. We have the rest of the week to hang out. I was going to do a bit of shopping anyway"

Maria bit down on her toast, "Olivia's car is in the shop getting an oil change so can you pick up her up at 3? She's taking some college prep courses at school before her senior year, which I don't get why she can't just do it her senior year and enjoy summer."

Olivia Montez was their younger daughter, she was 17 years old and a little Gabriella. She was on her way to being a senior in high school and has her mind set on going to UCLA next year. Even though they were about 8 years apart, they were best friends. Along with their brother, Daniel, who's 23 years old. They were such a close family that Gabriella missed living here, but she loved her job so much she couldn't give it up.

Gabriella shrugged at her mom, "Maybe she wants an easy senior year for 10 months as opposed to 3 months of work. But yes, I can pick her up. Do I use your car or dads?"

"We're taking mine, so use your mom's," her dad told her before opening up his newspaper and reading through it, "We're not coming home until maybe after dinner since it's a little while away, so you guys are on your own for dinner"

"Perfect. I'm in the mood for take-out. I'm going to do a little bit of shopping now before it gets too crowded," Gabriella told her parents as she got up from the table to go change for the day.

"Okay, mija, we're leaving in a few minutes" her mother told her. Gabriella nodded and made her way upstairs to her room. She was glad her room had not changed at all. And she was glad to be home.

* * *

Gabriella pulled up to her favorite shopping center. They had everything from restaurants to a movie theater to hardware stores to cell phone stores to boutiques. She loved boutiques and she couldn't wait to find herself a few things. She got out of the car and locked it, before throwing her hair up in a bun since it was hot outside. She was glad she was finally getting to shop. In LA, she had been so busy that she has not had anytime to go shopping. She loved shopping. Maybe a little bit more than her job. She looked both ways before crossing the parking lot and stepped on the sidewalk. She turned the corner to get to the store, and next thing she knew she was bumping into someone.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so," she started and then looked up to see it was Troy, "Troy? What the fuck?!"

Troy laughed, realizing it was Gabriella he just bumped into, "Well nice to see you too"

Gabriella picked up her car keys that fell to that ground and she adjusted her purse on her shoulders, "No, it's just... out of all people, I'm bumping into you. I've never even seen you in this town!"

Troy laughed, completely agreeing with her. They grew up in this town and yet never met or saw each other, and now that they have met, but not in this town, they're finally seeing each other in their hometown. "I know, kind of weird. What are you doing?" he asked her, before shoving his iphone in his pockets, "shopping?"

Gabriella nodded before looking down at the bag he was holding, "Did something happen to your phone or something?"

Troy looked down at his Verizon bag, and then back up at her, "Oh no, I just got a new case because my old one was, well, old. And got a few other things"

Gabriella didn't know what she should say or do next. How would she leave this conversation? Did she even want to leave this conversation? She didn't know what came over her but she felt like asking him to hang out. "Are you busy? You should shop with me"

Troy raised his eyebrows a bit, wondering why she would even ask. He thought she was maybe only being nice to him on the way because she felt like she had to. So this confused him a bit. He thought she would want nothing to do with him, since she's made it clear before she was not interested. And Troy wasn't the kind of guy to pursue a woman who wasn't interested, he didn't want to have to sell himself. "No, I'm not actually," he told her, "but shopping?"

Gabriella smiled, "Come on, it'll be fun. I can totally help you on your style," she told him, and she immediately regretted it because he actually knew how to dress himself.

"Hey, I'm told I have nice style" he told her, playfully, "But I guess I could always improve"

Gabriella laughed, "No you do, I'm just trying to get you to shop with me. You'll love it. Come on" She took his hand and dragged them in the direction of the store.

* * *

3 hours later, Troy and Gabriella were having lunch at Red Robin. They were both in the mood for a cheeseburger so they thought that place would be perfect. And of course, after a long day of shopping they were both starving.

"Shut up! What musical was it?" Gabriella asked Troy, who had just told her that his senior year, he was in a musical and that he actually really enjoyed it.

"Grease," he told her, as he took some fries and stuffed them in his mouth, "I was Danny Zuko"

Gabriella laughed, figuring he was. I mean they were both gorgeous so how could he not be Danny. "I just can't picture you in a musical"

Troy always had a good voice, but when he found out he needed to add some extra curricular activities to his college applications, he figured a musical would be something he would be good at. And he was. He got a standing ovation and his teacher even asked if he would ever be on Broadway. But of course, Troy had no desire to be. He only sang for fun. "Well, I was pretty good, let's just say that," Troy joked, "I got a standing ovation. All three nights"

Gabriella laughed and took a sip of her lemonade, "Wow, impressive." she then pushed her drink to the side along with her plate of food, "I'm so full."

Troy also pushed his plate to the end of the table. He was done with his food and full as well. They had ordered way too much food, and surprisingly ate it all. "Me too. What's the total?"

Gabriella grabbed the bill and looked at it, "It's 54," she read, "Wanna just leave, like 70 or something?"

Troy got out his wallet, and Gabriella got out hers. Troy took out 100 dollars and placed it in the folder with the bill, "I'm feeling generous"

Gabriella looked at him with an annoyed look, "No, I'm paying too," she insisted.

Troy shook his head and took another sip of his drink, "Too late"

Gabriella didn't want him paying for everything. She hated when people paid for her things when she wasn't on a date. She just felt weird about it, even if she knew the other person could afford it. So she took out a 50 dollar bill from her wallet and place it on top of the 100 dollar bill. "I guess today's her lucky day," Gabriella told him referring to the waitress.

Troy laughed, "Why are you so hell-bent on me not paying for you? Just because I'm paying, it doesn't mean it's a date"

Gabriella felt her cheeks turning hot. She finally realized that he was no longer trying to get with her. "Okay fine whatever, you can pay," she said taking back her 50-dollar bill and shoving it in her wallet. As she was putting her wallet in her purse, she got a text message from your mom.

**Don't forget to pick up Olivia. Thanks. Xo **

"Crap!" she exclaimed, roughly setting her phone down on the table after seeing that it was 2:45 and she had 15 minutes to pick up her sister.

"What?" Troy asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Gabriella told him standing up, "I have to go. I forgot I had to pick up my sister, but thanks for lunch. I'll talk to you later"

Troy saw her get up and turn around to walk away, not knowing if she forgot that they drove here together. After shopping for a bit at their town's shopping center, they went to the mall across town, and decided to carpool to save gas so Gabriella dropped off her car at home.

"Gabriella!" he called after her, and she turned around in a hurry.

"What?" she said, "I have to go!"

He got up and quickly followed her as he shoved his phone in his pocket and took out his keys, "We drove here together remember?"

Gabriella threw her head back in frustration, completely forgetting. Now she was going to be even later than usual. "Great, my sister's going to hate me for making her wait"

They were now out of the restaurant rushing to his car. He opened it for them and they quickly got in.

"We can pick her up, Albuquerque Academy? It's like 5 minutes from here" he told her, starting the car, and then slowly pulled out of the parking spot.

Gabriella nodded, so thankful that he didn't mind. If there was one thing Olivia hated, it was lateness. She hated waiting on people. And Gabriella didn't want to get off to a bad start with Olivia on her visit. "Okay, thanks. Because then I'd be late and she'd kill me"

* * *

Ten minutes later, they were parked in front of the school waiting for Olivia to come out.

And just as Gabriella was starting to get a little antsy from waiting in the car, she walked out.

"Oh here she comes," she told Troy, who saw a girl walking towards his car that looked just like Gabriella.

"Whoa, you guys look so much alike," he told her

Gabriella nodded, agreeing, she got that all the time. Everyone would tell them they looked like twins. "Everyone tells us that, but she's definitely prettier"

Troy disagreed. Well, he did think Olivia was pretty, but she was 17 years old, he wasn't looking at her like that. But if they looked alike, he obviously thought Olivia was beautiful because he thought Gabriella was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. "I don't think that's true"

Gabriella looked at him and smile a little bit before rolling down his window so she would know what car she was in, "Hey!"

Olivia walked up to the window where Gabriella was before getting into the car, "Whose car is this?"

Troy leaned forward so she could see him, "Hey,"

Olivia turned her head to the side in confusion, "Troy Bolton?"

"Yes that's him," Gabriella told her, "Get in, come on."

Olivia got in the back of his Audi and threw her stuff on the floor, and was thoroughly confused as to why The Troy Bolton was picking her up. And with her sister, for that matter.

"What's going on?" she asked Gabriella, "Am I dreaming or am I really in the car with an NBA champion?"

Troy laughed and turned around, "Nice to meet you"

Gabriella told him to turn around and to drive off. She just wanted to get home already. She was exhausted from shopping and just wanted to relax with a glass of wine and a movie.

"Long story short, we met in LA obviously, he offered me a ride home because surprise, he's from here as well, we hung out today, I completely forgot I had to pick you up and I didn't have time to go home and get my car so yeah. And don't freak him out"

Olivia nodded, still a little confused why Gabriella would ever get a ride with Troy Bolton since every time he was mentioned in their household, she would not care at all. Olivia wasn't star struck, she didn't get like that with celebrities she met, but she thought it was cool. Troy Bolton was one of the best players in the world and on one of the best teams. Her and her dad, actually her whole family, are die-hard basketball fans. And die-hard Laker fans.

"Oh that's cool. Did you tell him dad's obsessed with his playing skills?" she asked Gabriella, "The Lakers are our favorite team in the Montez household"

"Well thank you," Troy told her as he looked over his shoulder to switch lanes, "It's the same with my household"

Gabriella laughed, "No, actually I haven't told him that, but you just did," she answered her sisters question, "He thinks you have really good footwork and a great bank shot

Troy smiled, not because someone was a big fan of him, but because he was exceptionally proud of his bank shot so he was glad someone else found it to be good as well. "Well, tell him thanks"

"Gabs, I was hoping you would pick me up," Olivia told her, "No offense Troy, because I have to stop by Bob's Paints cause I'm painting my room today"

Gabriella turned around, "You're painting your room?"

Olivia nodded and looked down at her iPhone, scrolling through her Twitter, "Yeah, and I wanted to get the paint on the way home since it's like, right here. And you're helping me, by the way."

She was not in the mood to paint. She was tired and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Plus, it was hard work.

"Seriously? I'm tired. Why don't you get Zach to help you? Or Daniel. Or just hire someone. Trust me, that'll be way better"

"Zach is in California with his family," Olivia explained why her boyfriend couldn't help her, "And I tried texting Daniel, but he's not texting me back. And no, I want to do it. Please!"

"I can help you," Troy chimed in, "I don't have anything to do"

Gabriella glanced over at him. Why would anyone want to paint a room? She tried to do it once and it was the worst experience ever. Her arm was sore for two days and she didn't even paint it correctly that she had to hire painters after everything she had done.

"Seriously?" Olivia squealed, "If so, turn left up ahead so we can get the paint!"

Gabriella lowered the volume a bit, "Troy, you don't have to. Dad can help you tomorrow or something"

Troy did as Olivia told him to and turned left at the next street, "No, it's okay, I don't mind. I'm surprisingly good at painting walls"

"It's only two walls anyway, I'm finishing the rest tomorrow," Olivia told them, "You're a lifesaver. I totally like you more than Tony Parker now!"


	7. Chapter 7

"My arm hurts so bad!" Olivia whined as her and Troy were painting her room. It had only been about an hour and she was already tired, and finally understood why Gabriella was downstairs drinking a glass of wine and watching TV instead of helping her out, "I didn't know painting was this hard"

"Well I can imagine," Troy laughed, "You have no muscle"

Olivia put the paint roller down and walked over to her desk which was in the middle of her room covered with a plastic cover and picked up her phone.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked Troy, "Well another one"

He stopped painting for a minute and turned to look at her, "Yeah?"

"Can you, like, pose with your paintbrush or something? My boyfriend loves the Lakers and he would die if he knew you were helping me paint my room"

Troy laughed at her, and of course she could get a picture, but he found it a bit weird to try posing with a paintbrush. He didn't know how he would. "Can you just take a picture? Posing with a paintbrush is a little weird"

Olivia walked towards to him and opened the camera on her iPhone, "Oh okay, a candid shot. Perfect. I guess just stand there and I'll snap some pictures"

If there was one thing Olivia wasn't, it was shy. She could strike up a conversation with anyone whenever and with whatever which is why Gabriella felt like she could leave them two alone together. She knew it wouldn't be awkward because Olivia would be talking the whole time. Anyone who's in Olivia's presence for less than 5 minutes falls in love with her. She has this easy-going vibe and is always making people laugh. She's a little kooky and says whatever is on her mind, but she has a filter when it comes to saying mean things. And Troy was figuring out that Olivia was one of the most talkative people he had ever met. But that was okay because she made him laugh.

"Did you get a good one?" Troy asked her

Olivia went through the dozen pictures she just took, "Yeah, I think so. Thanks. He's just a huge fan"

Troy nodded, understanding. It was kind of impossible to not like the Lakers. They were legendary and Troy was so humbled to be apart of the team.

"Is anyone around this household not a fan of the team?" he joked.

Olivia picked up the paint roller, deciding she should get back to painting, "Nope. We've all been Lakers fans for our whole life. Die-hard basketball fans. But like we're not crazy, we're cool."

Troy found himself smiling, because he took such pride being a Laker. But he also found it a bit off because Gabriella didn't exactly seem to be too interested in him, which he thought she would be if she was a die-hard fan.

"Well except for Gabriella, right?" he asked her as he continued to paint half of the wall he was assigned to.

Olivia looked over at him, silently excited that she could use this as an excuse to stop painting, "What do you mean? Gabriella LOVES basketball"

It was Troy now who put down his paintbrush and went over to the desk to grab some of his water. Gabriella didn't strike him as a girl who was interested in basketball, which wasn't a bad thing, but it was just surprising to hear that she was. He really liked it. And he liked how she didn't freak out over meeting him if she was such a huge fan. It just goes to show she actually loves the game, instead of the players.

"Wait. How good of friends are you? Cause I'm pretty sure everyone knows she loves basketball"

Troy put the cap on his water bottle and shrugged, "I mean, it's kind of a weird story. I would say we're friends I guess, but I really just met her two weeks ago"

"Seriously? And you guys drove 11 hours together?" she asked him, "What the fuck is going on here?"

Troy laughed at the confused 17 year old in front of him. It was a weird situation. He would consider Gabriella to be his friend, but he found it weird that he was at her house, hanging out with her family, when they only met two weeks ago and it wasn't the best first meeting.

"I'm telling you, it's a weird story."

Olivia set down her paint roller again, "I have time. Tell me"

Troy was a little hesitant to tell her, but he figured if he didn't, she would ask Gabriella and he'd rather have her laughing at his face than behind his back. He put down his paintbrush too and sat on a chair in the middle of the room, telling her to sit as well, which she did.

"Well you know she puts together events and stuff, so she put this event together for my teammate which we were both at and we happened to be leaving at the same time. It was really crowded and she bumped into someone causing her to fall over kind of, but right into me. But not like in the movies, she just fell against my shoulder so I broke her fall. I knew about her, I mean how could you not? The youngest, most successful person to ever run a PR company in LA. That's pretty impressive. And of course, I thought she was beautiful."

He stopped when he saw Olivia grinning from ear to ear, "What?" he asked her.

Olivia threw her hands, waving them around, "No, no, nothing. That's just so sweet. But keep going"

He shot her back a smile before her continued, "Anyway, we were both going to our cars and I asked if she wanted to get a cup of coffee with me, but uh, she said no, shot back a few excuses as to why. And if you read magazines, you would know too. And then a week later, I saw her at another event. I told her I'd buy her a drink, but no. Again, we happened to be leaving at the same time, and when I overheard her flight was canceled, I offered her a ride home. And on our 11 hour car ride, I think we became friends"

Olivia tried processing everything. So Troy Bolton asked his sister out but she rejected him? She was so mad at her, because Troy was so gorgeous, but if she knew her sister, this made sense. Olivia had read magazines, and she knew the reputation Troy had in Hollywood but she didn't really see it as a bad thing. He was single and dating around. She knows tons of guys here at home who do that. But she could see why her sister would not want to go out with him.

"So you like her?" she asked him, smiling a bit.

"Well, I enjoy her company," Troy replied, "But I'm over the whole thing. I'm not one to sell myself or to convince someone to like me. I tried twice, so it's kind of out the window now. I mean, I wouldn't be oppose to it if she initiated it, but I don't think that's ever going to happen. I like being friends with her"

Olivia nodded, feeling a bit bad. She knew he had a reputation as a playboy, but she somehow could tell that it would all go away if Gabriella gave him a chance. But she wasn't going to push it.

"My sister just has a hard time with relationships. Her last one didn't end so well, and the one before, well he cheated on her, so yeah. So maybe don't take it too personal"

Troy nodded, wanting to know what went wrong in Gabriella's relationships, but he didn't want to be nosy. "It's okay, I'm over it"

Olivia got up off one of the chairs, "Well we should probably finish right?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with"

Olivia turned to head to her wall, stopping when her phone beeped meaning she got a text.

"Oh, my boyfriend texted me back," she said before reading the text out loud, "Keep him there until Wednesday. But don't try anything" Olivia laughed. And Troy laughed as well.

"Well, I'm here until Saturday" he told her, grabbing the paint roller and started painting the walls burgundy again.

"Perfect"

* * *

About an hour later, they got downstairs and found Gabi curled up with a blanket on the couch watching reruns of One Tree Hill. They entered the room, causing her to sit up a little bit. "Done?"

Olivia nodded, "Yeah, and my arm feels like it's going to fall off! I'm having dad do the whole wall tomorrow"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, and loved that she was right. "I told you. Painting is hard work"

Olivia and Troy both sat on the couch opposite of her and turned to see what Gabriella was watching. Of course. One Tree Hill. Olivia thought.

"Do you watch anything else besides this?" she asked her, "And are you crying?"

Gabriella quickly wiped her eyes, "No! Well, a little bit, you know how emotional I am during sad episodes. But anyway, are you guys hungry? I'm thinking of ordering some chinese or pizza. Or both."

Troy could always eat, even if he was hungry or not. And same went with Olivia.

"Either sounds good," Troy told her, smiling a bit, glad he didn't have to go home just yet because his mom was babysitting his nephew at his sister's house and his dad was at work, "I say both"

"Yeah, both," Olivia chimed in, "Do you know if Daniel's coming over? He hasn't returned my text and I miss him!"

Gabriella sat up and threw the blanket off of her and shrugged, "I don't know, he's probably busy at school"

Gabriella's brother, Daniel was 2 years younger than her and 5 years older than Olivia. He was the middle child and currently attending medical school to become a doctor.

"Oh right. Ugh. Daniel's our brother," Olivia said, turning to Troy, "he's older than me, but younger than Gabs, and he's in medical school to become a doctor."

Gabriella looked over to Troy, knowing that he, too, wanted to be a doctor in college. She didn't know if memories would be coming back and if he'd feel uncomfortable at all.

"Oh really?" Troy asked her, "That's great. I actually was going to go to medical school, but this opportunity came and I just felt like I couldn't pass it up."

Gabriella smiled. He seemed totally okay with it, which was good.

"I mean, doctor's are the best people ever, but being a professional basketball player is pretty fucking cool," Olivia told him, "and seems way more fun"

Troy laughed, and agreed with her, "It's fun, but there's pros and cons to every job. What about you, what do you want to do?"

"Oh I want to be a medical malpractice lawyer," Olivia told him, shooting a smile over at Gabriella, who also wanted to be that, but instead got into PR, "Since my sister didn't want to be one after all, I'll take over"

Gabriella laughed, "It just didn't seem right for me, but I'm sure you'll be the best lawyer" she told Olivia, "I think I'm going to order the food now. Chow mein, orange chicken, rice, spicy chicken? And a large pizza with everything on it?"

Troy and Olivia both nodded.

"Okay, be right back," she told them, and grabbed her cell phone to order from the other room.

As soon as Gabriella left the room, the front door opened, "Hello?"

Daniel entered his parents house and looked around for everyone, and then made his way to the living room where he assumed they'd be.

"Hey" he announced

Olivia and Troy turned around and saw Daniel standing there. She got off the couch and ran over to give him a hug. "I've missed you. Where the hell have you been?!"

"Sorry baby sis, I've been swamped with school and hanging with Vanessa," he told her as he backed away from their hug and entered the living room fully, finally seeing Troy, "Hey?"

Troy got off the couch to shake his hand, "Hey I'm Troy..."

"Bolton," Michael said, interrupting him, finally recognizing him. At first he thought he was a random guy, one of Olivia's friends, but now he was face to face with him and he realized it was the legendary Troy Bolton. "Yeah... Um what's going on here?"

Troy laughed as Olivia told him to sit down on the couch with them.

"Totally weird story. He's Gabi's friend and Troy is actually from here and they both carpooled to come home. And he's been helping me paint my room since you decided to ignore me"

Daniel sat on the couch and tried to realize what was going on. Troy Bolton was in his parents house. Sitting right in front of him. "Sorry this is just too weird. We watch your team almost every other night on TV and now you're... sitting in my living room?"

"Yeah, um I met your sister in LA a couple of weeks ago," he told Daniel, "And I offered her a ride home because I was headed here and we hung out today and then Olivia said she was painting her room and I offered to help"

"This is so cool," Daniel replied, "I mean, a little weird, but still cool."

Gabriella then walked in and told them that the food should be here in about twenty minutes or less. And then she realized Daniel was now in the room, too.

"Daniel!" she exclaimed and ran over to him to give him a hug, "I've missed you!"

Daniel got up and hugged Gabriella back, lifting her off the ground, "I've missed you too. You need to move back home"

Gabriella laughed. She wanted to move back, but she also loved LA and that's what she was used to. But she did miss her family a whole lot.

"I know, I know. Maybe one day soon. Are you hungry? I just ordered a bunch of food"

"Starving," Daniel told her, "And since when are you friends with NBA superstars?"

Gabriella chuckled a bit and found a place on the couch next to Troy. "Um, it's recent, huh Mr. Superstar?," she said, nudging him.

"Yeah," Troy replied, "Recent."

Olivia hardly knew Troy, but the time she spent with him painting her room, she got to know a little bit about him. And she didn't know if Gabriella knew this, but Troy doesn't consider himself a superstar at all, so she could tell her was a little bit uncomfortable with being referred to one. When she asked Troy how it felt to be the best player in the NBA, he went on to tell her that he wasn't and why he wasn't, which Olivia found very telling. If he thought he was, but was being modest, he would simple just say thank you and brush it off. But he made it a point to show exactly why he wasn't. He told her Oliver James from the New York Knicks has a better scoring average than him. And that Brent Haywood from Dallas Mavericks is the best free shooter in the NBA. And other examples.

Knowing Troy was uncomfortable with all the attention, Olivia spoke up, "Hey, why don't we go get ready for dinner?"

"Good idea," Gabriella told her, getting up as everyone followed her to the kitchen.

* * *

"That's sick," Troy told Daniel, who explained what he had to do at school today, "I guess I'm glad I didn't go to Medical school"

Daniel finished swallowing some orange chicken, "You wanted to be a doctor?"

Troy nodded, grabbing some more chow mein from the container in the middle of the table, "Yeah, but basketball kind of just happened. I mean, I can always go back if this doesn't work out"

Daniel glanced at Gabriella and then at Olivia, before all three of them broke out in laughter.

"Even on your bad days, you manage to score more than the average player, so I don't think you have to worry about it not working out," Daniel told him, with Gabriella and Olivia nodding.

"Well thanks," Troy told them, "Do you ever come out to some games?"

Daniel shook his head, as he also grabbed some more chow mein, "No, I mean, I've been to a couple, but haven't lately. Thanks Gabs"

"Well you have to let me know in advance when you're coming out to visit, not just the day of," Gabriella argued back

"Whatever, I'll just get my own tickets someday when season starts up again," Daniel told him

Troy looked at Gabriella, who was pouring some more orange chicken on her plate. "Do you have season tickets or something?"

Gabriella looked up from her plate, and smiled a bit, "Yeah, I do. I thought we told you, we're all basketball fanatics around here"

Troy knew that, but the little time that he's spent with her, she didn't talk about basketball once or seem interested that he was a Laker so he was a bit surprised when he found out she had season tickets. He had never seen her there before.

"Huh," Troy said out loud, "I didn't know that"

Olivia laughed. Of course he didn't, because their friendship was the weirdest thing she had ever seen. But at the same time, she loved it.

"Guys, we're home!" Jose Montez called out to his kids upon entering his house, "Where are you?"

"In the dining room!" Daniel yelled back

Jose and Maria walked into the dining room, hand in hand, ready to greet their children, until Jose saw Troy Bolton sitting in the chair he usually sits in.

"Troy Bolton" Jose said, mesmerized by the athlete in his dining room. He was such a big fan of his and he couldn't believe he was in his house, "Hi"

Troy got up, and stuck out his hand, "Hi, nice to meet you"

Maria jumped in front of Jose, "Hi, I'm Maria"

Troy shook her hand instead, "I'm Troy"

Maria nodded her head and smiled, "Of course. We're big fans of you and your team. We're hoping for a three-peat this year"

"Us too," Troy laughed, "Hopefully we can even with the new additions"

Jose finally got over the initial shock of thee Troy Bolton being in his house and asked about the new additions, "You're getting new players?"

Troy forgot that it wasn't final yet and everything was still in negotiations so he kind of regretted saying that, but he went along. "Um yeah, nothing's final yet, but between you and I, they're looking at Paul Brown and possibly some Knicks player that we're unsure of at the moment"

Jose smiled, "Oh man, that's going to be tough, but Paul Brown is very good defender. With him in the back and you... well everywhere else, I think you guys could take it. I can't believe I knew this before it's even being reported!"

"Thanks" Troy told him, laughing, "It's just tough to mesh well at first, but hopefully if it goes through, we'll figure out how to"

Jose nodded and gave him a pat on the back, "Well you'll still be the best player on the team. Can I just tell you, that 3-pointer you shot at the buzzer of the last playoff game was the most beautiful shot I have ever seen in my whole life"

"Well, thanks, I appreciate that," Troy laughed and smiled, feeling good about himself. He wasn't really used to this. Whenever he met a fan, they didn't really actually tell him anything about the sport, just about him which made him realize they weren't fans, just groupies. So it was a nice change that they all actually talked about the game and his playing skills rather than his looks and how he's portrayed in the media. He liked that they were down-to-earth fans and not crazy ones.

"Okay, dad, how about you let him enjoy his off season and not worry about basketball?" Gabriella chimed in.

Jose turned towards Gabriella and smiled, "Oh right, right, I'm sorry. I just got really excited"

"Oh no, it's fine, it's my career," Troy told him, "I don't mind"

"Well, in that case..." Jose started, "We have a basketball court outside... If you're done with dinner, want to shoot some hoops?"

Troy threw his napkin on the table that he was holding, "Yeah, yeah of course. Let me just help clean up here and we can go"

Olivia got up and picked up his plate, "No, it's fine. We'll clean up. Go ahead"

"You sure?"

Olivia nodded at Troy, "Yeah, go..."

Both of them, along with Daniel exited the dining room and made their way to the backyard.

Maria picked up some food, along with some plates and brought them to the kitchen. "He seems like a nice guy"

Gabriella who was right behind her threw some empty containers of chinese food into the trash can and then put the containers that still had food on the counter.

"Yeah, he's nice"

Olivia also entered the room, with the remains of the pizza and placed in on the counter. "He's very nice, mom"

Gabriella gave Olivia a look, "You into him?" she joked.

Olivia was at the pantry getting some foil paper to wrap around the pizza to save it for later. She walked back to the counter and started putting the pizza in it.

"Shut up, I have a boyfriend, I'm just saying... he's very nice. I kind of expected him to be a douche. I have to stop reading those magazines"

Gabriella laughed as she placed the chinese food containers in the fridge, "You know, those magazines have some truths in it. But he is nice"

Olivia knew she was talking about him being a playboy and hanging out with different girls at clubs. "Who cares? He's single. I mean, at first, it was a little off-putting to see. But after talking to him, and getting to know him a bit, it's whatever. He's really nice, Gabs. I'm sure he's not playing them or anything"

"He's not playing them because they all know about each other, but don't care because it's Troy Bolton" she rolled her eyes, "I mean, I don't care what he does with his personal life, I'm just saying."

Olivia smirked, "Someone has a crush on him"

Gabriella turned around from washing her hands, "I do not!"

Olivia walked over the the sink and placed the glasses in there, filling them with water so it wouldn't stain as they sat in there. " Well good, I guess, cause he's over it"

"What?" Gabriella asked

Maria chimed in too, "What are you talking about?"

Olivia sat down at the island, "Nothing, he just told me he's asked you out before and you turned him down so he's over it. He's not interested anymore"

"He's not?" Gabriella asked, already kind of knowing he wasn't, but wanting to make sure so she wouldn't have to think about it.

"He asked you out?" Maria asked Gabriella

""Yeah, twice, and she turned him down so now he's over it. He says you guys are just friends"

"Oh," Gabriella said, "Well... can you blame me for not wanting to be a notch on his belt?"

Maria laughed a little bit, who was now at the sink washing the dishes that her daughters just placed in there, "Gabs, just because he's out with a bunch of girls when he's single, it doesn't mean he's going to do that if he's dating someone."

Gabriella shook her head, "Mom, he's out a lot. If one of those many girls didn't become his girlfriend, there's obviously a reason. Right?"

"I suppose," Maria told her quietly, "But that doesn't mean you can't hang out with him"

Gabriella shot her mom a smile, "I know, mom, we're friends, which is kind of surprising and weird. But I actually have a lot of fun talking to him"

Olivia hopped off her chair and went to the fridge to grab a water bottle, "Maybe it'll turn into something more eventually," she told her, giving her a wink. But when Gabriella shot her a look, she changed it up, "Or maybe not."


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Olivia came downstairs and threw a jacket at Gabriella, "Here, your boyfriend left this here yesterday"

Gabriella, not knowing Olivia was going to throw a jacket at her, let it fall to the ground. Picking it up, she looked at it and for a split second wanted to keep it since it looked nice and warm.

"Um I guess I'll give it to him later," Gabriella told her, "Thanks. No class today?"

Olivia shook her head as she walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed the orange juice and some watermelon. "No, I only have classes on Monday and Wednesday"

She poured herself some orange juice, and then started making herself a plate of fruit with some watermelon, strawberries and bananas. Gabriella walked over to her and grabbed some strawberries from the bowl and plopped them in her mouth and then took a piece of watermelon.

"Should I just go give this to him now to get it over with?"

After swallowing some watermelon, Olivia told her, "Gabs, it's 10 in the morning. I don't think any guy gets up earlier than that when he doesn't have to"

Gabriella nodded, knowing she was probably right. But if she was being honest with herself, Gabriella really just wanted to see Troy. She didn't know what it was, but ever since yesterday, she just wants to be around him all the time. Last night after her dad, brother, and him played basketball for a while, her, Troy, and Olivia went to get some ice cream and Olivia ended up getting picked up by a friend so it was them two for a little while and she had so much fun. Even if it was just as friends since he wasn't interested anymore, Gabriella loved hanging out with him, which was surprising to her.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I'll just text him later and see if I could drop it off," she told her

Olivia raised an eyebrow and gave Gabriella a little smirk, "Well, don't make it so obvious that you're eager to see him, sis"

Gabriella who now had her head in the fridge back away immediately, "What? What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Olivia told her, moving herself and her plate of fruit to the island, "You were SO excited when Alyssa picked me up yesterday and it was just you two"

Gabriella pretended to be shocked, because truthfully, she was a bit excited. She closed the refrigerator and walked over to Olivia. "Oh shut up, I was not."

"Just admit that you like him, it's not that big of a deal," Olivia told her casually, "It's okay to like someone again"

Gabriella turned around trying not to let Olivia see her smile. She did think she was developing a crush on Troy, but she didn't want to tell anyone because she would never act on it.

"Fine don't admit that you like him," Olivia spoke up again, "But I know that you do. You like him and you want to see him right this second because you like him."

"Fine! Maybe I do!" Gabriella turned around, not being able to take it anymore, "But like, it's just a little bit. I don't know. It'll go away soon, once we get to LA"

Olivia smiled. She loved being right. "What the fuck does LA have to do with anything?"

Gabriella sighed and went to sit down next to her, plopping some more strawberries in her mouth, "Because the Troy I know here in Albuquerque isn't the Troy from LA"

Olivia was very confused. What does cities have anything to do with personalities? "Um, but I thought you didn't know Troy that well?"

Gabriella shook her head, "Well, no, but people talk, you know?"

Olivia let out a laugh, "Oh please, Gabriella. Troy could be the same person there as he is here, but you don't know that because you guys never hung out in LA. I'm the same person when I go visit you!"

She shook her head again, trying to get Olivia to understand where she was coming from. "Olivia, in LA, Troy goes out all the time. New girls every week. That's just how he is."

"Because he's single!" Olivia told her, "Look, like I told you, he's a nice guy, and I'm sure he's just having a good time as any single person would do"

"It's just hard to explain, Oliv," Gabriella told her, "I'll get over it soon, don't worry."

And with that, she walked out and upstairs to her room to text Troy about his jacket. Even though she wanted to get over her crush on him, at the same time, she wanted to see him. She didn't care if they hung out, she just wanted to see him.

She went to her text messages and found the last text she had from Troy and opened up the conversation.

**Hey, you left your jacket here and I don't know if you need it...?**

She fell back on her bed, waiting in anticipation for his reply. He normally replied fast, but this was taking longer than usual and she was not liking it. Finally after about 10 minutes, he texted her back.

**Actually, I do. It's my only jacket I brought and I need it for tonight.**

What's he doing tonight? She thought. But of course she wasn't going to ask him, because she didn't want to see nosy or annoying. She waited a couple of minutes to reply so she didn't seem so eager.

**Okay, I can bring it by in a little bit if you want me to.**

She set down her phone and walked over to her bathroom to freshen up a bit. She applied a bit of eyeliner on her water line and a bit of mascara as well and then let her hair down, pinning a piece of braided hair to the side. She walked back into her room and saw that he had replied.

**Yeah, that works since I won't have time to do it myself. 4725 Maple Dr. It's actually, like, 4 blocks over from where you live, haha.**

Gabriella knew exactly where that was and she couldn't believe they lived that close this whole time. Stranger things have happened, but this was one of them because she was always passing that block to get to her friends house.

**Haha okay, I'll see you in a bit.**

She changed from her sweats into a floral skirt and a loose fitted black top, accessorizing with a necklace and some bracelets. She walked over to her closet and took out a pair of combat boots and put them on. She walked over to her full length mirror and double checked her outfit. She liked it. She grabbed her phone and threw it in her purse, and then grabbed Troy's jacket that was hanging off her chair and went downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked, turning the corner, "Your boyfriends?"

Gabriella shot her a dirty look with her eyes and went over to the table in the middle of their foyer and looked for her mom's keys, "No, I'm just going to Troy's. Mom went with Monica right?"

Olivia nodded her head, "Yeah, she said she'll be back in a couple of hours"

"Okay, good. I'm borrowing her car," she told Olivia as she grabbed her mom's keys, "I shouldn't take long"

"Can you give me a ride to pick up my car? They just called me and it's done" she asked Gabriella

Gabriella hung her purse from her shoulders and threw on her favorite sunglasses, "Fine, but no more teasing about Troy"

Olivia smiled and placed a hand over her heart, "Okay, I promise!"

* * *

40 minutes later, Gabriella was parking her car in front of Troy's house. Before dropping off Olivia to get her car, they went to Target to pick up a few things. Which was good, because she didn't want to get to his house right away. Forty minutes was a long enough time since telling him she was coming.

She turned off her car, and grabbed the jacket from the passengers side and got out of her car. She looked at his house as she was walking up, and remembered seeing it every time she would pick up her friend. She always thought it was a super nice house, and of course she loved her house, but she loved the red door he had even more and the structure of it. Slowly walking up the steps, she took a deep breath, not knowing why she was all of a sudden nervous, and rang the doorbell.

No one answer, though, so she rang it again. Even though no one was coming to the door, she didn't want to ring it again and be annoying so she patiently waited there until a few minutes later, Troy finally opened the door.

"Hey, sorry," he told her, "Come in"

Gabriella smiled and walked in, glancing around his house. She expected it to be nice, but this was definitely nicer than what she had expected. They had the same tile, and the same color foyer and for some stupid reason, she thought it was a match made in Heaven, but she quickly got over that.

"You know, I used to drive by this house all the time to pick up my friend who lives on Mulberry. So weird" she told him as they stood in his foyer.

"Oh yeah, weird that you have to go through this street to get to that block," he told her, "But thanks for bringing it. I'm going to a soccer game tonight and I'm guessing it's going to get cold"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, I think it is too"

After a small silence, Troy's nephew, Zach, came running in screaming and yelling. "Uncle Twoy where did you go?"

Troy leaned down and told him to not be so loud, "Zach buddy, keep it down. My friend came over to give me something. We can play in a minute okay?"

Gabriella looked down and saw the cutest little boy she had ever seen. He looked like a mini Troy, which was weird since he was his nephew. He had brown hair like Troy, but instead of blue eyes, he had green. Still, she thought they looked alike.

"Hi, my name is Zach," the little boy introduced himself, as he usually does whenever he doesn't know anyone.

Gabriella thought it was the cutest thing ever and she squatted down to get at eye level with him, "Hi Zach, I'm Gabriella. But you can call me Gabi, if you want"

"You're pretty," he told her and then looked back at Troy who was laughing at him, never seeing him react this way to someone, "I'm running outside. Do you want to play with me and uncle Twoy?"

Gabriella smiled at him and looked up at Troy who was smiling down at him, but she didn't want to impose. She got what she wanted out of this and that was to see Troy. Hanging out there wouldn't be such a good idea if she was trying to get over him.

"Oh no, I just came by to give your uncle his jacket," she told him as she grabbed his little hand, "I'm sure you two are having too much fun anyway"

"Are you busy?" Troy asked her.

She got up from squatting and crossed her arms, "No, but it's fine, I just came to give you that."

"No, stay," Troy told her, "He's obviously taken a liking to you."

Gabriella glanced down at the little boy who was lifting his head up to look at her with his green eyes. Part of her really wanted to stay, but part of her knew the best thing was to just leave.

"Well, okay, I guess I can stay for a little," she decided, not knowing if she'd regret it later when she went home with an even bigger crush on him.

"Great," Troy smiled at her, "Come on Zach, let's show Gabriella all your toys"

* * *

"And then my mommy told me my daddy was sleeping so I had to be quiet. How mean huh? I was just twying to sound like a dog!"

Gabriella let out a few laughs as Zach was telling her story after story. For the last hour or so, all three of them played, with Troy and Gabriella getting some conversation in here and there.

"Wow, and I bet you make a great dog sound, huh?" she told him, still laughing

"Yep! Look," Zach told her as he backed away from her and prepared to make dog sounds, "How was that?"

Gabriella clapped, "That was the best dog I have ever heard. Maybe you can do it for your dad when he's awake"

Zach nodded his head and started skipping around, "Yep! I love my dad he's my best fwend. And my mommy too but she sometimes puts me in time out because I don't eat my vegetables. And my grandma and grandpa are my best fwends. They let me get in their pool. Do you have a best fwend or do you want to be mine?"

She smiled at the almost 4 year old in front of her and suddenly thought that she couldn't wait to have kids of her own someday, especially if they were as cute and funny as this one.

"I would love to be your best friend. But only if you pick up all your toys"

Troy looked over at Gabriella and smiled, thankful that she told him to do that because he was just about to and he didn't know if he'd throw a fit over it. But since he liked Gabriella so much, he figured he'd listen to her.

"Okay, I can do it in 5 minutes. Ready, set go!" He said as he ran around the backyard picking up all his toys.

Troy got up of his chair and got closer to Gabriella, "Thanks, it's always such a hassle to get him to pick up his toys"

She got up as well, helping to clean up the toys that were around him and her, "Oh no problem, this mess was starting to give me anxiety anyway"

Troy helped cleaned up the toys around the table they were sitting at. He was very appreciative of Gabriella. She helped keep Zach busy, and even though he could have easily done it himself, she made it a lot easier for him because Zach was in love with her so he wasn't running around as much, instead he would just talk to her.

"We're home!"

They heard voices coming from inside the house, and Troy turned to Gabriella who was done picking up the toys and putting them in the basket.

"Oh my mom and sister are home," he told her, in which she got a little nervous about, but she had no idea why because it's not like he was her boyfriend.

Troy's sister, Chelsea, and his mom, Lucille, walked outside to where they were at. Gabriella took one look at Chelsea and thought she was flawless. _My God, the Bolton's have good genes. _She thought. Then she looked at the mom and thought the same thing. She looked like an older version of Chelsea.

"Hey," Troy said, walking over to them, "Zach is just picking up his toys"

Chelsea scanned the backyard, looking for her son, "Was he fine?"

Troy nodded, "Yeah, of course. When is he not?"

Lucille laughed, knowing he wasn't good at times since she babysat him most of the week while Chelsea and her husband worked. Lucille then looked over at Gabriella, who she just barely noticed.

"Hi?" Lucille said, sounding as nice as possible.

"Oh, right" Troy said, "Mom, Chels, this is Gabriella. Gabriella, this is my mom Lucille and my sister Chelsea"

Chelsea walked closer to her to get a better look, "Montez? So weird! I was just reading about you in Glamour"

Gabriella smiled a bit, but had no idea what she was talking about. Glamour? Why would she be in Glamour? But she knew her last name, so it had to be right.

"I was?" she asked, surprised, "For what?"

"Mom, what was the list?" Chelsea asked turning to Lucille, who was walking closer to them, "Oh! Best dressed people in Hollywood. And then had a description of the person. You're 25?! How the hell is that possible?"

Gabriella laughed a little bit. She always got asked that question and she didn't know why. She thought she looked 25. "Do I look older?"

Chelsea laughed and shook her head, "No, no, girl you look good. I'm just saying... you're so successful!"

Troy pulled Chelsea away from Gabriella just a little bit so she could give her room to breath, "Chels, give the girl a little bit of space"

"Oh sorry," Chelsea told her, "It's just so cool."

Lucille sat down on the seat opposite of where Gabriella was standing, "That is. If I ever need a publicist, I know to go to you." she smiled at her, "Wait. Is she your girlfriend?"

Troy rubbed the back of this neck, slightly uncomfortable, and then sat down again next to his mom, "Um, no we're friends, we met in LA and it so happens we're both from here and are visiting at the same time. That's where I was yesterday. She went to Albuquerque Academy"

"Oh sorry, it's just, the last girl you brought home... um, never mind. Nice to meet you!" Lucille told her, "I actually wanted Troy to go to Albuquerque Academy because their academic programs are the best in the state, but he didn't want to leave his friends. And I guess it was fine, since he went to UCLA."

Gabriella really wanted Lucille to finish her thought about the last girl Troy brought home, but she figured that it had probably been a long time since it seemed like he hasn't had a girlfriend in a while. And for some weird reason, she was glad he didn't normally bring girls home. "Yeah, it was definitely challenging, but if he got into UCLA, he could have easily gotten though high school there. I liked it"

"Even the uniform?" Chelsea asked, "I mean, they're cute uniforms, but didn't you just want to wear your own clothes?"

Gabriella shrugged, the uniform thing didn't really ever bother her, "It was easier, seriously only took me 10 minutes to get ready in the morning"

Chelsea and Lucille laughed, knowing how that feels since they're both girls.

"Mommy!" Zach yelled as he ran from the side of the yard over to them, "You're back!"

Chelsea squatted down and opened her arms so he could run into them. She picked him up and gave him kisses all over. "I missed you. How was playing with Uncle Troy?"

She set down Zach and fixed his shirt a little bit. "I didn't play with uncle Twoy, I played with Gabwiella. She's pretty huh mommy?"

They all laughed as Chelsea glanced over at Gabriella and gave her a smile, "She's very pretty. Did you say thank you for letting you play with her?"

Zach shook his head and walked over to Gabriella and climbed on top of her, making himself comfortable on her lap. "Thank you for letting me play with you Gabwiella. Remember we're best fwiends?"

Gabriella ran her hand through his hair and then rubbed his back a little bit. "No, thank YOU for letting me play with you. I had so much fun."

Zach leaned forward and gave her a hug and then hopped off and ran inside the house.

"Wow, he really likes you," Chelsea commented, "If only you were 4" she laughed and followed her son inside the house to get him cleaned up.

"Well, I should probably go," Gabriella said getting up.

Lucille got up as well, "You're leaving?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I have lunch plans. But it was good meeting you"

"You should come back whenever you have time, Zach loves you," Lucille told her, using him as an excuse but really wanting her to come back because she could tell her son liked her.

She smiled at Lucille, "Of course. Maybe later in the week"

"Come on, I'll walk you out" Troy told her, placing a hand on her back and escorting her to the front of his house.

On the way, she said bye to Chelsea and told Zach she would see him soon, and in response, he gave her a hug and a kiss. They got to the front and opened the door, with him walking out to his porch. She turned around and gave him a smile.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," she told him, kind of awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Troy nodded, "Yeah, yeah, thanks again for bringing my jacket"

She smiled and nodded, "No problem"

And for the next few seconds, they stared at each other and Gabriella thought about kissing him, but she realized that was probably not a good idea and she didn't want to embarrass herself. Plus it would be totally weird and random. Troy, on the other hand, was wondering is she felt anything for him because they were gazing into each others eyes, but he knew she didn't and he was just wishful thinking.

She finally tore her eyes off of him, "Have fun at the game"

"Yeah, thanks. Um, I'll text you later or something," he told her, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Have fun at lunch"

Gabriella smiled and turned around to walk to her car. She didn't know what else to say so she left it at that. Troy watched as she got into her car and walked away. He walked back into his house and closed the door behind him, walking to the kitchen where his mom and sister were.

"Are you making lunch?" he asked them, taking a piece of turkey that was out on the counter and shoving it in his mouth.

"Yeah, you want some?" Chelsea asked, "Where's your girlfriend?"

Troy rolled his eyes, slightly embarrassed that his mom even mentioned that, but was happy Gabriella didn't acknowledge it. "We're friends"

Chelsea walked over to the fridge and took out the mayonnaise and mustard, "Okay, but you obviously like her"

"No, I don't," Troy told her, "I mean, I've asked her out before, but she said no, and somehow we ended up being friends and I like that"

Lucille took out a few pieces of bread and started spreading some mayonnaise on them, "You asked her out? When? Like you actually wanted to go on a date with her?"

"Yes, mom" Troy replied, as he got a soda from the fridge, "I actually wanted to take her out"

Chelsea stopped taking the turkey out for the sandwiches for a minute, "And if she said yes, you would have stopped hooking up with other girls?"

Troy placed his soda down on the counter and hopped on the bar stool, "Seriously Chels?"

She held up her hands in defense and then grabbed a piece of turkey and threw it on top of a piece of bread and added some lettuce and cheese, "No, no, I know you're a one girl kind of guy if you're dating someone, but you haven't dated someone in a while so I didn't know if it would be easy to just give up hooking up with these girls whenever you wanted. Like if you're ready for that commitment. I'm not saying you'll cheat."

"I can and I am ready," Troy simply said, "But it doesn't matter. She's not interested and we're good being friends"

Chelsea looked up from making the sandwich, seeing if he mean what he said. She knew her brother better than anyone. "But you still like her?"

Troy shrugged, "I don't think so. How can you like someone who doesn't reciprocate feelings? I mean, I enjoy her company. But like I said, I like being friends with her. It's better than nothing. She's funny."

Chelsea slabbed on a piece of tomato and closed the sandwich and cut it in half for her, "Yeah, it might not matter to you, but if you have any type of feelings for her, show her. She might change her mind, you know. The Bolton charm is hard to fight"

Troy shook his head, taking another sip of his soda, "I'm not going to sell myself and convince her to like me. It's fine. I'm fine. We're good"

"Whatever," Chelsea said as Lucille passed her another slice of bread to make another sandwich.


	9. Chapter 9

"What are you doing tonight?" Olivia asked Gabriella as she walked into her room the next day, Wednesday, "Do you have plans?"

Gabriella, who was laying on her bed with a pillow over her head because she had a massive headache, ignored her sister.

"Hello?!" Olivia screamed, taking the pillow off of her, "I asked you a question!"

Gabriella pulled the pillow back, "No, Oliv! All my friends are at graduate school or in LA, so no I don't have plans. Plus I have a huge headache"

Olivia walked over to her dresser, "Then take a tylenol. And can I borrow these?" she said holding up a pair of knee high socks she took out.

Gabriella picked herself up a little bit to see, "Yeah, whatever. Can you get me one from the bathroom?"

Olivia walked over to her bathroom and got the tylenol from her cabinet and threw it on her bed, "Here!"

She then walked over to her closet and went through some of the clothes she brought along with her, and some of the clothes she had left last time visiting.

"Can I borrow this black top as well?"

Gabriella looked over to her sister holding up a plain, loose, black top with sequins on the neck. "Yeah, that's fine. Where are you going?"

Olivia jumped on her bed and sat at the edge of it, while Gabriella laid there with her hands on her temple.

"Date night," she told her, "Zach is back from California so we're going out"

Gabriella nodded, continuing to rub her hands on her head, annoyed with this headache. _Beep! _Gabriella looked around for her phone, wondering if she had gotten a text or an e-mail.

"Where's my phone?"

Olivia looked around for it, and spotted it on her dresser and got up to give it to her. "Oooh Troy texted you!"

Gabriella reached for her phone and quickly read the text message. **What are you doing? **She read it out loud and asked Olivia what she should reply back.

"Um the truth?" she said as she turned on Gabriella's curling iron and let it heat up, "What else would you tell him?"

"I don't know," Gabriella told her, "I don't want him to think I'm a loser just laying here, doing absolutely nothing"

Olivia laughed, "Well you are, so. Just tell him you're laying down because you have a headache. There's nothing wrong with that"

Gabriella nodded and quickly typed out a text.

**I'm just laying down, I have the worst headache ever. What are you doing?**

"Okay, I did"

Olivia turned around, with the curling iron in her hand, "Tell me what he says back"

After a few minutes of Gabriella continuing to lay down and Olivia curling her hair, Troy finally texted back.

**So is going to dinner out of the question? **

She read it out loud and it caused Olivia to turn around, "Well, say no! Go to dinner with him"

Gabriella secretly really wanted to go to dinner, but she didn't feel like getting ready and she had this headache. But she did want to hang out with him.

"Oliv, this headache is killer! I'm not going to survive going to a crowded restaurant with loud people"

Olivia finished curling a strand of hair, before putting the curling iron down and walking over to get some hairspray from the bathroom.

"Then have him come over here," she said, spraying the curl strands of hair, "Mom and dad are going to that charity dinner so they'll be gone all night, and I'll be gone too."

Gabriella thought about it for a second. Even if the tylenol did kick in and she felt better, she still didn't feel like getting out of her sweats and sweater to get ready.

"Okay, fine," Gabriella decided, "What time should I tell him?"

Olivia picked up the curling iron again and started curling more strands of hair, "Well, I'm leaving in about an hour and mom and dad are leaving in about 30 minutes. Tell him 5ish."

Gabriella nodded and went back to his text to reply to him.

**I'm up for dinner if you don't mind bringing me some. I'm definitely not in the mood to go out. **

She patiently waited until he texted back, hoping he would say yes, because if he didn't, she would have to make something for herself here and they hardly had anything.

Her phone beeped and she picked it up a little too eagerly, and read his response.

**That sounds even better. I'll bring some stuff to make something. What time?**

"He said he was going to cook something. Is that romantic?"

Olivia turned around, laughing, "Kind of. But you're trying to get over him, remember? So don't think too much about it. Or do." she said, knowing her sister loves when a man cooks for her.

"He's killing me," Gabriella said softly before texting him back.

**5 is good. **

* * *

"Be patient, it's almost done" Troy told Gabriella about an hour and a half later, as he was in her kitchen preparing some lasagna, "My cooking takes time"

It was about 7:30 and Gabriella was starving. And it didn't help that the food smelled so good. She didn't think she mentioned it before, so she was pleasantly surprised that he decided to cook her favorite meal in the whole world. She loved lasagna more than any other food and was so excited to eat.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry," she told him, as she hopped on the counter, bringing her legs up, and crossing them, "I haven't ate in two hours"

Troy chuckled, "Two hours? Well then good thing this is almost done. I just need to put the bread in the oven for about 5 minutes." he said, talking over his shoulder.

Gabriella nodded as she took a celery stick that was on the counter and dipped it in ranch. "I guess I'll munch on this until then. Do you like cooking?"

Troy put the bread in the oven and set the time for 5 minutes, and then turned back and found her sitting on the counter sitting Indian style, looking down on her phone. She was wearing a sweater and some pajama pants as if she wasn't trying to impress him. She hardly had any make up on, with the exception of a little eyeliner, and her hair was up in a messy bun. He loved that look. He loved that she didn't try hard to look good, she just did naturally. But at the same time, it kind of meant that she probably didn't care what she looked like in front of him because she has no feelings for him. And even though Troy knew that, it still kind of bugged him a little bit. But he would much rather take this comfortable look than her done up.

"Um, yeah, it's relaxing," Troy told her, "my mom just told me I should know how to cook, so I try as much as possible"

Gabriella looked up from her phone and nodded, "Well, it smells good. Hopefully it is."

Troy walked over and grabbed a celery stick as well, dipping it in ranch, and taking a few bites before he finished it. "Do you have anything to drink?"

Gabriella placed her phone down and uncrossed her legs to jump off the counter, "Oh yeah, I have wine. Or if you want beer. Or there's soda"

"I'll have a glass of wine," Troy replied.

* * *

"Okay, this was better than Spaggo's and Lord knows I LOVE that place," Gabriella told Troy as she finished her last bite of her lasagna. It was seriously the best lasagna she has ever had, and she wanted more, but was way too full to have any.

Troy smiled, thanking God that she loved it. He knew he could cook a pretty good lasagna, but girls can sometimes be picky.

"So no hot date tonight or hang out with the guys?" Gabriella joked. And even though she had a crush on him that she was trying to push away, she thought they were comfortable enough to joke around like that as friends.

"Nope, which is why I texted you," he replied back, taking a sip of his wine

"Hey! All my friends are in LA or scattered across the country," she said, with a slight laugh, "plus I like lounging around."

Troy shook his head, "No, yeah, this is better than going out actually"

Gabriella finished her glass of wine and got up, "Do you want some more?"

Troy looked down at his glass, which was not empty yet. But he didn't want anymore because he had to drive home. "No, I'm good. Thanks though."

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and poured herself some more wine, with Troy following behind her, bringing in their plates and placing them in the sink.

She saw Troy was washing the dishes, so she decided to sit back and watch. She hopped on the counter again, and sat Indian style as she took a sip of her wine. The leftover lasagna was in a dish right next to her, so she used her fingers to grab a bite and put it in her mouth. She did it several times before she realized she was way too full and she was going to explode.

Troy finished washing the last dish and dried his hands on a paper napkin. Turning around, he found Gabriella on the counter swallowing a piece of lasagna.

"I thought you were full?" he asked her

Gabriella kept chewing her last bite until she finally swallowed her, "I am. It was just right here so I got a little bit. But take it away or I'm going to die"

Troy laughed and walked towards her and moved the lasagna away, placing it on the other counter and then walked back to Gabriella. "You know you have sauce all over your face?"

"I don't really care," Gabriella told him, "no, but where? I don't feel anything!"

Troy didn't want to take it off for her, so he told her she had some on the right side of her lip and some on her chin.

"You're lying," she told him, "I really don't feel anything, and I'm not getting anything," she said trying to clean it.

"Why would I lie?" Troy argued, "It's mostly on the right side of your face!"

Gabriella was frustrated. She didn't have a mirror and she didn't really want to get off the counter and she had no napkin to just wipe her whole face.

"Just get a napkin and wipe it for me please!" she told Troy, in which he turned and grabbed a napkin from the other counter and came back, ready to wipe it off.

"It's right here," he said wiping some off by her lip, "And here," he finished with the rest on her chin.

They were the closest they had ever been to each other, and all Gabriella had to do to be able to kiss him was lean a couple of centimeters forward. She knew he wasn't interested in her anymore so she didn't know if she should go for it. But their eyes were looking into one another and it just felt right to her, even if it wasn't. She didn't want to regret it and she knew she was going to, but something inside of her was telling her to just lean forward.

Which she did.

And they kissed.

Which caught Troy entirely by surprise.

It was a peck, but a long, deep peck and when Gabriella pulled away, Troy had no emotion. His face was blank. He did not expect that at all so he didn't even know how to react to it. It took him a couple of seconds, but he finally gathered himself up.

"Gabriella..."

But instead of letting him talk, Gabriella leaned forward, this time letting her feet fall to the ground, dangling on the sides of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She captured his lips once again, not wanting him to say anything. She didn't want him to say that she shouldn't have done that, or that they should talk about it. She just wanted it to happen at least once more so she knew for herself if she genuinely had feelings for him.

She figured out she did and she hated herself because nothing could come out of it. She couldn't possibly pursue a relationship with this guy when all he does during his off-season is hook up with other girls.

Gabriella deepened the kiss a little bit before pulling back once more. She looked into his eyes to try to figure out what he was feeling, but she got nothing.

"Um," Troy muttered out

Gabriella jumped off the counter and pulled down her sweater, fixing herself, "No, we don't have to talk about it. That was stupid. I know you're not interested and I really don't know why I did that"

She thought he wasn't interested? Troy thought. To be honest, Troy didn't even know how he was feeling. Of course, he enjoyed it, but he didn't know where to go from there.

"But, we have to," he said, which caused her to shake her head.

As soon as he was going to keep pushing the talk, Olivia and her boyfriend walked into the kitchen.

"Hey guys," she said, holding onto her boyfriend's arm, "what's up?"

Gabriella looked at Troy and Troy looked at Gabriella, both not knowing what to say.

"I didn't even hear you come in," Gabriella told her, which was true, she hadn't heard them at all. "Hey Zach!" She went over and hugged her sister's boyfriend which she adored. They had been dating since their freshman year, so about 3 years, and she thought they were the perfect couple. She was slightly jealous at times.

"I've missed you" she told him, pulling away from their hug.

"I've missed you too," Zach replied, "I was just in your neck of the woods, and I was going to call you to hang out!"

Gabriella laughed, "Well now we can hang out here"

Olivia walked over to the lasagna and smelled it, and then took a tiny piece of it. "Who made this?"

"I did" Troy told her, "Do you guys want some? There's plenty left over"

Olivia shook her head and wiped her fingers on a napkin, and then went back over with her boyfriend, "No, no we just had dinner. But Troy, this is Zach. Zach, this is... well you know."

"Hey man," Troy said, extending his hand, "nice to meet you"

Zach extended his hand too, and the two guys shook hands, "Yeah, nice to meet you also," he told him, "Man this is so weird. I mean, cool, but weird. You're, like, the best basketball player"

Olivia and Troy laughed, and Gabriella chuckled a little bit, but was still just thinking about what happened. She didn't know if she was totally stupid for doing that, but she was in no mood to talk about it so she'll never know.

"Then you must only watch my team," Troy laughed, "But thanks man, you play any sports?"

Zach nodded, "Yeah, I play soccer. Which is, no offense, better than basketball"

"Can't argue with that, I love soccer," Troy him him, "I actually played when I was younger, but basketball was a better fit for me. But watching soccer is way more fun than watching a basketball game"

Gabriella wanted to throw her head back and fall to the ground. Gabriella LOVED soccer, and she didn't need to hear this right now, because she was trying to get over him, not develop more feelings. Why couldn't he just say he hated it?

"Really?" Olivia asked, "Gabriella LOVES soccer, too. She was actually really good, but she stopped playing after high school, huh? You could have probably gone pro, girl"

Gabriella walked over to the table by the window in the kitchen and sat down, not feeling like standing up anymore. "Eh, I'd rather just watch now"

Olivia shook her head, "Don't listen to her. She was really good, huh Zach?"

Zach was their mom's best friend's son, so they've known him their whole life. But then they moved during middle school until freshman year of high school where they reconnected again, even though they were good friends to begin with, and Olivia and him got to hang out more and they realized they liked each other. Their parents were thrilled about their relationship, and it's been strong ever since.

"Yeah," Zach agreed, " I mean, I was about 9 or 10 when I would go watch you, but I remember being so impressed"

Gabriella smiled at him. He was like the little brother she never had. "Thanks Zach"

Troy wished he would have knew her back then so he could see her play. He loved soccer. And he wished more than anything that he had the foot work for soccer, but basketball was the better sport for him, which he still loved. But he would have preferred soccer.

"Well, then that's a shame I didn't get to see you play," Troy told her, leaning against the counter

Gabriella still felt a little awkwardness between them, but she was beginning to think it was only on her part, because he looked fine. She really did not want to be weird, so Olivia and Zach wouldn't suspect anything, but she couldn't help it.

So she smiled at him. "Yeah. I need to go to the bathroom" she said, getting up and exiting the kitchen.

* * *

About an hour later, they were all chilling watching TV, until Troy got a call.

"I have to go," Troy told them, standing up.

Gabriella turned her attention to him, and stood up as well, "Oh... Well, I'll walk you out" she offered.

Troy smiled and nodded, "Thanks. Olivia, good to see you again. And Zach, nice meeting you man"

Olivia got up and gave him a hug, and Zach got up and gave him a handshake.

"Okay, maybe I'll see you again before you leave?" Olivia asked him

Troy nodded his head, "Yeah, of course."

He then turned around and Gabriella followed him out of the living room into their foyer, where they were both standing for a couple of seconds in silence before she opened the door.

"Are we going to talk about this?" Troy asked her, standing outside on her porch, "I think we should"

Gabriella gripped onto her door, and tried to avoid eye contact with him, looking out into the street. "Um I don't think we need to. I shouldn't have done it"

Troy shoved his hands into his pockets, "Why do you get to decide if we talk about it or not?"

Gabriella took a deep breath. She already knew he wasn't interested anymore, she didn't need to hear it straight from his mouth. "Look, Troy, maybe tomorrow or something."

Troy didn't want to push the subject anymore, and annoy her, so he just let it be. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration and then turned around, getting ready to walk to his car. He turned around, "Call me tomorrow?"

Gabriella nodded, agreeing, even though she didn't know if she actually would. And then backed up inside of her house and closed the door behind her.

She walked back to the living room where she saw Zach and Olivia cuddling on the couch. She took a step back, and leaned against the wall, watching them for a few minutes before joining them again.

"I missed you," Zach told her, planting a kiss on the top of her head as he stroked her hair, "How has class been?"

Olivia grabbed his hands and intertwined their fingers, "Horrible. Don't even leave for 2 weeks again."

Zach laughed, "Well I am leaving for one week next month, but you're coming with right?"

Olivia nodded. Their parents and them were all taking a trip down to the lake since they had a cabin, they thought they'd use it for the summer. Their families were really close and would always take trips together or go out to dinner. And they were really supportive of their relationship.

"Have you given any thought to, you know, maybe going to UCLA instead of Stanford?"

Zach shook his head, not really wanting to talk about it. He wanted to go to Stanford because they had a really good science program and because their soccer team were one of the bests in the country. Meanwhile, Olivia wanted to go to UCLA and study law. They had talked a little bit about their relationship and where it's going to go, but they were trying to make the most of the time they had.

"No, and I don't know if we should be talking about this right now. It's a while away"

Olivia knew it was a while away, but all she wanted was for her boyfriend to be close to her. She didn't want to have to do the long distance relationship. Plus, UCLA had everything Stanford had to offer. They had a great science program and the second best soccer team in the country.

"I know, I know," she told him, "I just think about it a lot. Long distance seems... hard. And I mean, it could work, but you just never know what life throws at you"

Zach scooted up a bit, trying to face her a little more, "Look, if I end up getting into Stanford and you get into UCLA, we are going to make it work. No ifs, ands, or buts. Thankfully, we both have the money to fly back and forth to visit each other, and when we go home, we'll be going home together. I don't care how many girls there are in college... they're not you, and I only love YOU. I couldn't possibly imagine loving someone as much as you. So stop worrying about it, and just trust that everything will work out. I'm not going anywhere. I told you, we're going to end up married with a million little babies running around"

Olivia laughed, and was trying so hard not to let tears slide down her face. She knew they were only 17, but they had such a strong friendship for so many years before dating, that their relationship was rock solid and just as serious as any 27 year old relationship. She knew she wanted nothing more than to be with him forever.

"You're going to make me cry." she told her as she gave her a kiss and then snuggled her head into his chest and she brought a blanket over them, "But I love you and thank you for everything."

Gabriella, meanwhile, watched and heard the whole conversation from the entry way of the living room. They had no idea she was standing there, and she decided to leave and give them their time alone. They needed it.

She walked upstairs to her bedroom and went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She thought about the conversation her sister and Zach had and she couldn't help but feel jealous that her 17 year old sister is with the person she's meant to be with forever. And here she was, 25 years old and single. She decided that she desperately wanted that again. She wanted to love someone, cuddle with them while watching movies, go on date nights, take trips with them, talk about their future. Her mind flashed to Troy, and even though she felt something for him, she didn't know if he was the one to do all that with. Sure, she has seen a different side of him here in Albuquerque, but she didn't know if it was because he was out of the spotlight or what. She didn't want to waste her time because she was serious. She was serious about finding someone to spend her time with and to love. And she didn't know if he was. She couldn't risk her heart. She decided that she had to get away once and for all.


	10. Chapter 10

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked Gabriella as they were shopping the next day with their mom.

Gabriella rummaged through some cute tops in Forever 21, "What do you mean?"

"You just seem... a little off," Olivia told her, holding up a shirt for her mom to see, "Do you like this?"

Maria nodded her head and took out another shirt, "I like this one too. I think you'll look great it this" She passed the shirt to Olivia and went over next to Gabriella and rummaged through the clothes with her, "Are you okay?"

"Oh my gosh!" Gabriella exclaimed, "I'm fine! Why doesn't everyone think something's wrong?"

Olivia and Maria exchanged glances, knowing something definitely wasn't fine. Gabriella wasn't one to get loud at all, unless she was really torn up about something.

Olivia noticed that ever since last night, Gabriella's been a little quiet and to herself. Normally, they could talk for hours whenever she came home, but after Troy and Zach left, Gabriella just wanted to go to sleep.

"Uh because I'm your sister. Seriously, what's up?" Olivia asked her.

Gabriella walked over to the jeans, trying to ignore her sister, but she knew she couldn't and she would have to tell her sooner or later what was going on. But what was she going to tell her? That her and Troy kissed, but she didn't think she could pursue it because she didn't feel like it was right? Her mom and her sister would tell her she was stupid, and to take a chance.

"I'm not in the mood for your harsh comments or moms that are going to come afterward, so maybe later I'll tell you" she told Olivia as she walked around the store more, looking for cute things to buy.

Olivia didn't even need her to tell her specifically, she now knew something happened between her and Troy. She could tell, it was a sister's intuition.

"Look, remember when you told me I should give Jeremy a chance, the summer before high school started? But I told you no because I thought I liked Zach? And you told me that Zach didn't seem interested, so just see where Derrick and I go? If I would have listened to you, I don't know if I would be with Zach right now. Maybe I would, but not like this you know? Madly in love. Eventually, we both became interested in each other and here we are... 3 years later." Olivia told her, "I'm just saying, you'll never know how it really is with someone unless you give them a chance, but I'm not going to tell you what to do with your personal life. It's up to you, I just know that from what I've seen of Troy, he's a good guy, BUT like you said, I don't know LA Troy which could be different. It's seriously up to you and I'm done telling you otherwise, okay?"

Gabriella didn't expect that at all to come out of Olivia's mouth because last night she kept pushing for her to give Troy a chance after everyone left. But she did appreciate her sister respecting her decisions and letting her come to a conclusion on her own.

"Well, thanks sis," Gabriella told her, "I'm figuring it out"

* * *

After a long day of shopping, and having lunch with her dad, mom, and sister, Gabriella went right upstairs when she got home and plopped on her bed. She didn't know why she was so tired lately. But she had to snap out of it because she had to go back to work in 4 days.

She laid on her bed with a pillow over her head and tried her hardest to take a nap but the buzzing of her phone prevented her from doing so. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw she had a few texts.

**Troy Bolton. **

**Sarah Thomas.**

**Ashley Tisdale.**

She, of course, wanted to read Troy's text first, but decided to read the other two before focusing all her attention on Troy's text. She opened up Sarah's text and read:

**Is there any way you could come home before Saturday night? Amy, Addy, and Kaylee are sick as dogs and we could totally use your help for Saturday's event :/**

Gabriella normally would be upset about cutting her visit short, but she felt like it was time to go back to LA and to forget everything that had happened. She was losing her mind here and she thought maybe focusing on work would be a good idea. She quickly checked the internet on her phone and checked to see if there were flights available for Saturday morning. She scrolled through everything, and found one leaving tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock. Perfect. She went back to her messages and texted Sarah back.

**Yes, I'll leave here around 11 tomorrow. Pick me up at the airport around 1.**

Meanwhile, as she was giving Sarah time to text back, she went and opened the text from her best friend, Ashley. She hadn't seen her in a little while, and she missed her. But they would still talk all the time.

**Hurry and come home, I miss you! Let's get lunch on Monday, yeah? And maybe after you can go to the Children's Hospital with me? I know you like going to the one in New Mexico, but just come with me, please! Love you!**

Gabriella smiled. She missed her so much and she couldn't wait to get her advice on the whole Troy Bolton issue. She quickly texted her back.

**Only if you're buying, movie star. But of course! And duh, I'll go with you to the CH, they're all the same. I'm just a little turned off by the one in LA because of all the paps, but for you, anything. Love you more! **

And finally, it was time to read Troy's text. She had butterflies in her stomach and she didn't know why. She knew it was just going to say that they need to talk.

**Come over?**

Gabriella sat right up as soon as she read that text. Okay, so it wasn't what she thought he'd say, but he probably wanted her to go talk to him, and she didn't know if she wanted to. She was trying to get over him and move past it.

**Look, Troy, I don't really think there's anything to talk about. It was stupid and it probably shouldn't have happened. **

She hit send and then threw her phone to the side of her on her bed, patiently waiting for a text back. She had gotten texts back from Ashley and Sarah, but she just read them and decided not to reply because she had bigger things to worry about.  
She got up and went over to her dresser and placed her shopping bags on top of it and then went to the bathroom.

After coming out from the bathroom, she saw that she had a new text from him.

**It did happen and we can't pretend it didn't. I don't want to. **

She was confused. What did this mean? Did this mean he doesn't want to forget about it? Did he like it? Did he want it to happen? She kind of hated herself for kissing him because they were becoming good friends and she liked being his friend. They had fun together. So many questions were running through her mind that maybe she should talk to him, but at the same time, she didn't want to. She texted him back and then went over to her dresser and started taking some clothes out to start packing to go home.

* * *

**Why don't you want to? It'll be easier if we did. **

Troy read his text out loud to his cousin, Weslie, who was over at his house hanging out with him. She was two years younger than Troy and they were, like, best friends. His younger sister, Katie, who was about to start her last year at UCLA, was also best friends with Weslie and when they were all in LA, they would hang out.

"So let me get this straight, this girl kissed you, now you have feelings for her, and she regrets it?" Weslie asked Troy as she took a bite of her pizza.

Troy nodded, "Pretty much. I mean, I asked her out when I barely knew her, but I wanted to get to know her on a romantic level. Obviously it was because of her looks, but then when she said no and I saw her again, I just felt like she was different. We rode here together, and somehow I got to know her on a friend level and it was pretty great. I forgot all about her looks and focused on her personality. I mean, I could easily like her, but it was pretty clear that she wasn't interested, so I stopped myself, only I don't think I stopped because here I am, wanting to see her again and hang out with her"

Weslie swallowed her food and smiled a bit, "Awww you like someone. How long has it been?"

Troy shook his head, not wanting to get into details, and reliving the past. "Stop. I don't think she really wanted it to happen because... well you know, she reads magazines"

"Hey if you want me to tell her I was in the picture with you when you were bringing three girls home to partake in a four some, I'll be more than happy to. I'll even tell her you NEVER bring girls home."

"Ew Wes, don't even bring that up. That was so disturbing. But there's no use. I'm just trying to change her mind about me... as more than a friend. Because as friends, we're good. But you know... I think there could be something more. Something great"

Weslie took another bite of her pizza and then thought about what Troy could say back to her. She loved her cousin so much and it killed her to see him get scrutinized in the media because she knows who he really is. She thought maybe he didn't have to hook up with so many girls, but at the same time, making out is so innocent that her opinion about her cousin didn't change at all. She knows what a great guy he is.

"Okay, how about you text her back something sweet, letting her know you're interested?" she told him, reaching for another slice of pizza.

Troy thought about what he could possibly say. He read her text once more and just let his fingers type away.

**Because I want this. Tell me you didn't feel anything at all and I'll leave you alone. **

Weslie read what he wrote and gave him a thumbs up. "Oh good job, throw the ball back in her court. What do you think she'll say?"

Troy shrugged and reached for a slice of pizza as well, putting it on his plate and then going to the refrigerator to get some ranch and parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

"I don't know. I really don't"

A few minutes later, she texted him back, and instead of reading it out loud at first, he decided to read it to himself.

**We can talk about it. But I'm leaving to LA tomorrow morning, there's been an emergency at work and I have to get back. Just call or text me when you get back into town, and you can come over or something. **

Troy was a little bummed that she wasn't going back to LA with him, but at least she agreed to talk to him, and she didn't deny not feeling anything so that was good. "Well, she didn't deny it, and she's open to talking... but in LA because she's leaving tomorrow"

"Wait, she's not driving back with you?" she asked him.

Troy shook his head and shrugged, "I guess not. Something came up at work"

Weslie wiped her mouth and her hands and clapped, "Oh my gosh, I can ride back with you then. Way better than flying with all my stuff,"

"Yeah, of course. I don't want to be bored the whole ride home." Troy told her, smiling, "But I'm thinking of leaving Friday around 12, is that okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be ready by tomorrow," Weslie told him, "Are you sure I can stay with you for a while?"

"Of course. I have plenty of extra rooms. I mean, you can even live with me if you don't want to find an apartment or condo when you start your internship, but I know you're all about living with girls until you've found the guy you're going to spend the rest of your life with."

Weslie laughed and gave him a slight push for making fun of her, "Shut up, sorry I'm a hopeless romantic. But you're right, unless I don't find anything, then hell yeah I'm staying with you" she told him as he laughed.

* * *

"I am STARVING, let's please get food before going to the office," Gabriella told Sarah as they were driving back from the airport.

"Yeah, I actually had lunch plans with Ash today at Aroma Cafe and I was going to ask if you wanted to join so it's perfect," Sarah told her, turning right at the light.

Gabriella reached over and grabbed her iPhone, turning it on for the first time since landing. Luckily, as soon as she walked out of the gates, Sarah was there to pick her up so she didn't have to bother to turn her phone on. But she figured she should let her parents know she's landed so she decided to turn it on. About a minute later, texts and missed calls were coming in. Her missed calls were from her mom and she had some texts as well. But of course the text from Troy stood out the most to her.

**Hope you have a safe flight, and let me know when you land. **

Gabriella couldn't help but to smile. It was a sweet gesture that he didn't have to do. But it let her know that he cared and of course it made her feel good inside.

"What's with the smile?" Sarah asked her, "Oh my gosh is that Troy? I totally forgot to ask. How did things go?"

Sarah was too busy catching Gabriella up with everything that's been going on at work the past week that she completely forgot she had spent 11 hours in a car with Troy. And now she wanted to know everything.

"Things are... complicated," Gabriella told her, "But I want to tell you and Ash together at the same time"

She didn't want to have to repeat her story twice in less than an hour so she decided to wait until they were all together. In the meantime, she texted Troy back.

**I'm here and safe, thank you. Let me know when you get back in town... we can talk. **

"Girl, something happened, huh?" Sarah asked, switching lanes to take a left turn at the light, "I know something happened"

Gabriella threw her phone in her purse, "Will you just wait?"

Sarah groaned as she turned and merged onto the freeway to get there faster.

10 minutes later, they were seated at Aroma cafe waiting for Ashley to get there. They had both ordered their food and were waiting for it to arrive.

"Gabs!" Gabriella turned around to see Ashley walking towards her, her arms open to give her a hug, "You're back?!"

Gabriella hugged her back and nodded, "Yep, I came back early. Go order, so we can sit down and talk"

Ashley said hi to Sarah and then went inside to order, quickly coming back out with an iced tea and sitting down at the table, waiting to catch up with Gabriella.

"So how was going home?" Ashley started the conversation.

"It was good. It was relaxing," Gabriella told them, "I bought a lot of cute stuff that you probably couldn't find here, so that's good"

Sarah rolled her eyes and took a sip of her lemonade. She wanted to get straight to business: finding out what happened with Troy. "Cut the crap, Gabs, and tell us what happened with Troy!"

Ashley threw her hands together and then lifted her glasses up to her head, "Oh that's right! Sarah told me you road tripped with him. How was that?"

Gabriella thought back to that day and realized they had a lot of laughs. Even though she was asleep for 4 hours and she made things a bit awkward between them at one point, after getting over that, the rest of the trip was full of laughs. At one point, she thought she was going to die of laughter.

She smiled a bit, remembering everything, "It was fine. You were right Sarah... he's a nice guy. And through it all, we actually became friends."

Sarah shot her a look, "Just friends?"

Gabriella smiled a bit, "Well everything just happened so fast and I don't know what happened, but I started getting these feelings... and one night he cooked for me, but just as friends I think, and I don't know what came over me but I kissed him"

Ashley almost choked on her iced tea. Gabriella never made the first move, so this was shocking to her. "You kissed him?!"

"Did he kiss back?" Sarah jumped in, "Oh my gosh!"

"Yeah, and he did kiss back, and even though at the time I didn't think he was interested in me anymore, he told me he didn't want to forget it and that he wants this. I don't know, I'm confused"

Ashley was confused herself, "What are you confused about?"

Gabriella didn't know if she was kidding or not. Who wouldn't be confused about potentially liking Troy Bolton? "Ash, you know how he is around here. I'm not going to be another notch on his belt"

"Look, I don't personally know Troy, but I really can't see you being another notch on his belt because you're not that type of girl and I think he knows that. I know he's been with his share of girls, but you can't fault him for that. He's gorgeous. And so what, you're just going to let these feelings go to waste because you're scared?"

Ashley nodded, agreeing with Sarah, "She's right Gabs. People can change, you know."

"He's a nice guy, I just don't know if he's ready for a commitment. I'm not looking for anything casual and you guys know that. Plus I got to know Albuquerque Troy. What is he's totally different from LA Troy?"

Sarah nodded, knowing exactly where Gabriella was coming from. If you read anything about Troy, the last thing you'd think he was ready for would be a commitment. "I get you. I guess you two just need to talk and make sure you guys are on the same page. You can't possibly know what he's thinking and make a decision for the both of you.

Gabriella smiled at her friends who were being so supportive and helpful. "I'll talk to him" she told them before taking a sip of her drink.

* * *

"Are you hungry?" Troy asked his cousin, Weslie, the next day as she was getting ready. They had gotten in late last night, Friday, which was good because there weren't any paparazzi's around and the last thing Troy needed from an 11 hour car ride, was to be swarmed by paparazzi's as he got home.

"I'm starving, and I've been craving a crepe from Jack N' Jills, can we go there?" Weslie asked as she threw her hair up in a pony tail and applied some red lipstick.

"You know what? That's perfect since I wanted to get some glasses on Rodeo. 10 minutes?" He told her as she nodded and continued getting ready.

10 minutes later they were leaving and Troy was happy he didn't see any paparazzi's around. When he does get photographed out and about, it's usually because they're at his house and they follow him so he was relieved today there wasn't any.

Another 10 minutes later, they were seated on the patio of Jack N' Jills, looking over their menu.

"I already know what I want, do you?" Weslie asked, closing her menu, "I get the same thing every time"

Troy, on the other hand, was still scanning the menu. He had only been there a couple of times so he didn't know what he wanted. "I guess I'll just get an omelet or something"

As soon as he closed his menu, the waiter came and asked if they were ready to order. They each ordered a cup of coffee and while Weslie ordered the breakfast crepe, Troy ordered the only type of omelet that was on that menu.

"I'll be right out with your drinks," the waiter told them as he took their menus and went inside.

Weslie took off her sunglasses and placed them on the table, along with her iPhone, "So have you talked to Gabriella?"

"A little bit. Yesterday, she told me she arrived safely and we got to talking a bit, and last night I told her I was back in town and that maybe tonight or tomorrow we can get together"

"Do you know what you're going to say to her?" Weslie asked him.

Troy shrugged as he took out his iPhone from his pocket, "I don't know. I haven't prepared anything, but I guess something along the lines that I want something with her."

Weslie smiled a bit, "Like officially?"

"Well, not officially..." Troy told her, "I mean, eventually if things are going good, but for right now, I just want to pursue something on a romantic level you know? I don't think I can just be friends with her. I wanted that, but it all changed when we kissed."

Weslie nodded her head, agreeing. She didn't want Troy to rush into anything because she wanted it to be different from his other relationships that didn't end so well.

"Well I hope she opens her eyes completely and realizes what a great guy you are,"

"Thanks Wes," Troy smiled at his cousin.

* * *

"I am soooo full," Weslie moaned, "But so, so satisfied!" The waiter laughed at her as he took their check from the table and went inside.

Troy took a sip of his coffee and then took his last bite of his omelet and pushed the plate to the side. "Okay that was delicious," He told Weslie.

Weslie smiled and nodded her head, "Right? I love this place" She took a final sip of her coffee and pushed it to the side of the table so the waiter could take it. She looked down at her phone and saw a text from her boyfriend. After reading what he sent her, her face went blank as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Wes?" Troy asked her, "What's wrong?"

Weslie didn't even hear what Troy was saying. She was so focused on what her boyfriend, Matt, had just texted her and couldn't even think straight.

"Weslie. Are you okay?"

This time, she looked up at Troy and he saw that her face was in shock, and he had no idea what was going on.

"Wes, what happened?"

After a minute or so of getting herself together, Weslie read Troy the text that her boyfriend sent her. "Matt. Um, he just, he just told me that he thought this whole long distance thing would be easier and that um, maybe we need to take a break."

Troy's heart broke for his cousin because he knew how much she cared for Matt and how much she has invested in their relationship. Matt and Weslie had been together for about 7 months, meeting last year. A couple of months into being friends, they decided to take their relationship to the next level, but two months in, Matt got into Medical School in San Fran. They were just starting their relationship and Weslie didn't want it to end so her and Matt decided she would stay for a couple of months in San Fran with him staying with her cousin that lived up there. She needed to do her own thing too, though, so after a couple months, she left and they maintained a long distance relationship for the next two months. She visited as much as she could, wanting to make it work, and she thought they were doing a good job of it until she had gotten this text.

"I don't understand, Troy!" she told him, "I just got back from visiting him a week ago and we had a great time! How is it not working out?"

Troy looked at his cousin and knew she was trying her hardest to not fight back tears, "Wes, it's okay to cry." He reached over and grabbed her hand, "It's going to be okay."

With the other hand Troy was not holding, Weslie wiped away a single tear and sniffed a bit, "He's such a jackass. Doesn't he know how much I tried? And what does this even mean? When he wants to be back together, he expects me to just get back with him? But in the meantime he's going to hook up with whoever he wants?"

"Obviously not, which is why he doesn't deserve you. I mean, he's telling you this over a text," he told her, "You know what? You're better than this. So tell him to go fuck himself and that you're better off, which you are. Do you know how many of my teammates think you're gorgeous? There are a ton of guys that will treat you better than he will."

Weslie cracked a smile, and all of a sudden there were no more tears she was holding back. She knew deep down that Matt wasn't for her, but she was a hopeless romantic that she tried so hard to make it work.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better," she told him, "It worked"

Troy smiled and got up, pulling her up as well and planting a kiss on the top of her head, "It's true, you know. Derrick, Austin, Tony..."

Weslie stopped walking and turned around to face Troy, "Derrick?"

Troy nodded, "Derrick"

"Really?" Weslie asked. She had met Derrick numerous of times over the past few years when Troy would have all the guys over and they've had a couple of conversations. Some, she would say, were flirty but of course she had a boyfriend and would never do anything.

Troy nodded again, "Really. Is that who you would go for?"

Weslie shrugged, not knowing if that was such a good idea, "I mean, he's been nice the couple of times I've talked to him and he is really good looking, but that'd be kind of weird. Dating my cousins best friend"

Troy threw his arm over Weslie as he escorted them to their car down the street, "No, it wouldn't. Actually if I had to pick one guy for you, Derrick would be my choice. Very good guy. I just want the best for my favorite cousin"

"I don't know"

Troy took his arm off of her and reached into his pocket to find his keys, "Yeah, just focus on yourself for a while."

Weslie nodded, "You know, I don't think I even loved him the way I was supposed to," she told him, as she took out her phone to finally reply to his text message.

**You know what sounds even better? Taking a break... forever. Good luck with everything in life.**

* * *

"Gabs, check the major gossip sites for pictures of the event last night," Sarah told Gabriella over the phone Sunday morning, the day after, "Everything looks fab!"

Gabriella had just gotten up from last night, where she got in late because she was actually having a really fun time at her friend's event. It was 9 in the morning and the last thing she wanted to do was check pictures, but she decided to just get it over with so Sarah would stop bugging.

"Okay, okay, I will. Bye," She told her and hung up her phone.

She walked over to her living room where her laptop was on the coffee table and picked it up, falling back on the couch. She turned it on and waited for it to load. She checked her phone and noticed she had a few text messages. One from Olivia and one from her mother. She threw her phone to the side, deciding to read them later.

Once her laptop was on and ready to go, she clicked on the internet and went on a couple different gossip sites. She scrolled down and saw her event pictures on one of them and was happy with how it turned out and what they had to say about it. She went on another gossip site and scrolled down, searching for it, but then scrolled back up when she saw pictures of Troy. She read the headline first, which read, **Troy Bolton: Another day, another girl. But this time it's not in a club. Girlfriend, perhaps? **She quickly clicked on the pictures and saw him with an attractive girl with light brown hair and a killer smile. She clicked on another picture and saw them both stuffing their faces, unaware of the paparazzi. Again, she clicked on another one and saw him holding her hand from across the table. She scrolled through a couple more and then looked at the last shot of them. It was a picture of them walking with his arm over her.

She closed her laptop and put it back down on the coffee table as she threw herself back on the couch, looking up at her ceiling, thinking about what an idiot she was. She couldn't believe she was thinking of trying something with him. In the pictures, Troy seemed so oblivious of the paparazzi so maybe it was a breakfast date with this mysterious girl that he thought he could get away with.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't even want him coming over in a couple hours like they had discussed. And by some miracle, her phone buzzed and got a text from Troy saying he couldn't make it today.

**Hey, I'm so sorry. Coach scheduled a meeting today and a little scrimmage to make sure we're in shape. Can we maybe talk tonight? You can come over anytime after 6. It's 5497 Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, 90210. The pass code is my jersey number plus a 7 if you do decide to come over, so I won't have to ring you in. It's easier that way.**

She was relieved and happy that she wasn't the one that had to cancel the plans. She texted back that it was fine, and that they will talk later. She set her phone down and went to her room to get ready to go have lunch with her friend.

Gabriella grabbed the shopping bags from her trip back home, deciding to wear one of those outfits today, and realized one of them was Troy's. She must have taken it when they went shopping and he dropped her off. She was so mad that she had this because she knew now that she had to see him. She was planning on not talking to him at all, and telling him later that she didn't want to see him. But she couldn't keep his clothes, he spent a lot of money on them.

Gabriella quickly thought what she could do. And she realized she could drop them off right now since he wasn't home. She would leave it on his front porch and maybe that'll let him know that she's done and doesn't want to talk to him again.


	11. Chapter 11

30 minutes later, Gabriella was sitting in her car in front of his house, wondering if she should drop his stuff off just like that. She didn't know if anyone would steal it, or if it was mean to just leave it there. but then she remembered that he had a gate and she had the pass code to it so she decided to just leave it.

She turned on her car and drove into his driveway, punching in his pass code, immediately opening the gate. She parked her car and got out, grabbing the bag of clothes and headed for the door. She stood there for about a minute, trying to figure out if this was a good decision. She was about to set the bag down, deciding it was for the best so she wouldn't have to see him again, and just as she was about to, the door opened.

"Hello?"

Gabriella was face to face with the same girl that was in the photographs with Troy, and all she wanted to do was get out of there. She stood there, not saying anything.

"Are you looking for Troy?"

Gabriella realized she had to say something, "No, I know he's not home and I was in the neighborhood so I was just going to drop this off for him," she told her.

"What is it?"

Gabriella motioned with her hands as if it was nothing important, "Oh just some clothes." The girl reached for the bag and looked inside.

"Are you Gabriella?"

Gabriella stood there, confused as to what was going on. How did this girl know her name and who the hell was she? "Um yeah?"

The girl smiled at her, "Oh my gosh, I'm Weslie! Come in"

Gabriella was a little apprehensive, even though she did want to know how she possibly knew her name. And why she would be inviting her in.

"Oh, no, I can't. I have lunch plans."

"Oh please. I'll only keep you a couple of minutes," she told her, practically begging.

Gabriella caved in and nodded, walking towards the open door, slowly walking through and into the house. While Weslie was putting the bag of clothes on the couch in living room to the right, Gabriella stood in the foyer alone for a few seconds. She looked around, loving the layout and the tile and then her eyes made their way over to the picture frames on a coffee table against the wall, on display for everyone to see. She looked at the different pictures and saw Troy with his mom and dad. Troy with his sister that was in the magazine she read. And then looked at another one with Troy, his sister Chelsea, his mom, and the girl who just let her in, Weslie at his nephews 3rd birthday party.

Weslie came back in the room, "Those are nice pictures huh?"

Gabriella looked up at her, and backed away from the pictures, "Yeah, there's a lot"

"Well, Troy loves his family," Weslie told him, "This is so exciting. Don't tell Troy about this, but I want to talk to you!"

Weslie led them to the kitchen so she could offer her something to drink.

"Why? And how do you know my name?" Gabriella asked her, politely as possible.

"Oh ah I'm sorry! Troy's my best friend. And my cousin! We tell each other everything and I know I'm younger, but I have to approve! Because I definitely don't want a repeat of last time," Weslie told her as she walked over to the refrigerator and took out a pitcher of lemonade.

"Cousin?" Gabriella asked, shocked. She thought this girl was drop dead gorgeous that she figured she was probably dating Troy. Yes, she was relieved and yes, she was happy to hear.

"Oh right, I didn't even properly introduce myself," Weslie told her, coming towards her with her hand out, "I'm Weslie, Troy's younger cousin. I'm moving here and he's letting me stay until I find a place of my own."

Gabriella shook her hand and smiled, relaxing a bit, knowing that those paparazzi shots and headlines meant nothing. Gabriella would hug and wrap her arms around her boy cousins all the time, so she wasn't questioning it at all anymore. And she didn't think Weslie would lie about it, especially since she knew who she was.

"Nice to meet you," Gabriella told her, taking a seat at the island, "Are you from Albuquerque as well?"

Weslie nodded as she walked over to the cupboards and took out two cups, "Yeah. And then I went to school out here at Chapman, and studied journalism. I took a year off to travel, and now I'm getting ready to start an internship at Vogue."

Weslie poured some lemonade into a glass and passed it over to Gabriella who grabbed it and took a sip of it. "Oh that's exciting. I had a friend internship for them and she absolutely loved it."

"Really? Oh thank God. I'm nervous, but I'm really excited about it as well," Weslie told her as she, herself, took a sip of her lemonade, "And I love LA. Being close to Troy and his sister is always good, too. Doesn't make me miss home as much."

Gabriella smiled at her, and laughed at herself for jumping to conclusions but who could blame her? "Yeah, my little sister is hopefully moving here in about a year so I'm hoping to not miss home as much either"

Weslie nodded, "Yeah, Albuquerque is the best," she told her, "Anyway, have you and Troy talked?"

Gabriella shook her head, "No, um we were today, but he told me he had practice all day or something like that"

"Oh yeah, he does. He left so early, I felt so bad," Weslie said, "But I thought you guys talked last night?"

Gabriella shook her head again, "No, I had an event. It just hasn't been good timing."

Weslie went over to the sink real quick and rinsed off her hands that were a bit sticky from touching the pitcher of lemonade. She dried off her hands and walked back over to the counter and took another sip.

"Oh, but it's going to be a good talk, right?"

Gabriella smiled a bit, not knowing what kind of talk it was going to be. She had her reservations, for sure. "I don't know... I was just going to play it by ear and hear what he has to say"

Weslie could tell she had her doubts like any girl would if they had read the magazines Troy was in, but she wanted to let her know about the real Troy and she hoped Troy wouldn't get mad that she was selling him.

"Can I tell you a little about Troy?"

Gabriella nodded, "Sure"

Weslie took another sip of her lemonade before she began, "Okay, well, I don't know if he told you, but in high school his girlfriend cheated on him. And he was devastated. But that didn't knock him down. Then in college, he dated this girl and he felt those feelings again, and I don't know what it is that makes girls want to cheat on him because he's really a great guy, but she ended up cheating on him as well. He took the, 'fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me,' saying a little too serious and wouldn't commit after that. He would date a girl for a couple of weeks, but nothing serious. Then in LA when he had the chance to get whoever he wanted, he took it. He would just hook up with girls, not having to worry about calling them or investing feelings because he was afraid of how it would turn out"

Gabriella sat there quietly, feeling so bad that Troy had to go through that, and wondering why those girls would cheat. Why anyone would cheat. But at the same time, it didn't give you a free pass to fuck whoever you pleased.

"...I mean, I know it's not my place to tell you, but for the record, Troy never sleeps with any of them. Or even brings them home. He's actually very conservative and he'll probably kill me for telling you, but his number is very, very, very low. So if that's what's stopping you from having something with him, you know, knowing in the back of your mind that he's been with so many girls, well that's not the case. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and tell you he hasn't made out with a lot of girls, cause he has. But that's so innocent. And I'm not saying it's not disgusting, but my opinion about him doesn't change. He doesn't ever bring them home, introduce them to his family, nothing. It was just him being young and stupid, and not wanting to have a label on anything. He's my cousin and I know the kind of man he is, and he's a good one."

Gabriella was actually shocked about his sex life because he was Troy Bolton. He could have had anyone he wanted. Her attraction towards him grew instantly and enormously. Right now, she was thanking God for making her decide to come and drop off his clothes or she would have probably never known this.

"I mean, thank you for telling me this. The time I have spent with Troy, I can tell he's a good guy. And he's very easy to get along with and very funny, and you know, has a lot of qualities I like. I just don't know for sure," she told Weslie.

"Don't know what?" Weslie asked her.

Gabriella took a deep breath, "I just don't know if he can commit. I mean, I know he has in the past, but this is now. What if he doesn't like having just one girl and he misses going out every night without a care in the world and hooking up with whoever he wants? And what if I got to know LA Troy and don't like him as much as Albuquerque Troy? What if they're completely different?"

Weslie could tell where she was coming from, but she knew Troy better than her and wanted to assure her it would all be fine. "Look, ultimately, the decision is yours, but as his cousin, and seeing him come home from nights out, depressed and not himself, I can definitely tell you that he would not miss that at all. Troy is a relationship guy. Many girls probably don't think so because of his ridiculously good looks. Thank his momma for that. But he is. It just took him a while to realize that he wants that again, and that living the way he was is never going to get him a relationship. It also takes the right person to not want to go back to that, and from what Troy's told me about the fun you guys have and a little bit about you, you might be that girl."

"You think?" Gabriella asked quietly, feeling a lot better about the situation.

Weslie nodded, "I think. And as for LA Troy and Albuquerque Troy, they're the exact same person. Except of course, he's more relaxed when he goes home. But other than that, he's the same. I promise. Oh and please don't tell him any of this, he'll kill me. He hates having to sell himself, blah blah blah. Except I think he might have had to with you cause you're a tough cookie, but that's understandable."

Gabriella laughed, "I won't tell him. I promise."

Weslie smiled, "Good. I'm so glad you came over." she told her as she checked the text message she just got from her sister. "Oh my gosh! How funny!"

"What?" Gabriella asked.

Weslie walked over to her and showed her a picture her sister just sent her, "Troy and I went to breakfast yesterday and my douchebag boyfriend broke up with me over text and he was consoling me, and it totally looks like we're dating,"

Gabriella didn't know whether to laugh or not, because she had already seen those pictures and just less than an hour again, she was furious at them.

"I didn't even know there were paparazzi's there," Weslie said, annoyed, but then laughed it off, "Troy's going to laugh so hard when he sees this. Actually he's probably going to be disgusted."

Gabriella stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say.

"Wait, you saw these huh?!" Weslie was now realizing why she was quiet and why she was surprised that she was his cousin, "Oh my gosh! Did you think we were dating? Is that why you were dropping off his stuff when he wasn't home? You didn't want to see him?"

Gabriella now laughed, "Well, it does look like it. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty mad. And yeah, I was coming to drop off his clothes so he wouldn't have to come over, but I guess it's a good thing I did. Everything's cleared up"

Weslie threw her head back and laughed, "Oh my gosh. That's so funny. No, yeah, good thing because he would have been bummed," she told her, "Anyway, I can't wait to see where the two of you go."

Gabriella smiled, "We'll see."

She wanted to believe Weslie, but at the same time she was his cousin and she was obviously going to make him look good. She sounded convincing, but she still had her reservations. On the other hand, she didn't know why she would go through all that trouble to convince her to date Troy when Troy could have anyone, so maybe she was telling the truth.

* * *

"Okay this paparazzi is on another level today, how do you survive this daily?" Gabriella asked Ashley the next day as they headed into the Children's Hospital to take the kids toys and to hang out with them.

Ashley shrugged and walked through the glass doors, leading to the lobby, "Ugh they're so annoying, but most of the time I zone them out."

They walked up to the front desk and saw a petite girl there.

"Hi," Ashley called out to her.

The lady looked up from her papers and showed them a smile, "Oh hi! The kids are waiting for you, they're so excited," she told her, getting up, to lead them back, "Come with me"

The lady took them back to a room where there were about 7 kids, each with their own hospital bed.

"I'm going to go talk to the nurses for a bit, are you okay here by yourself?" Ashley asked Gabriella, putting down the gifts she had on a table next to them.

Gabriella put her purse down on the table as well, "Yeah, yeah, go ahead, I'll be right here,"

Ashley followed the lady to the back of the room where she got acquainted with the nurses. Gabriella looked around and saw the cutest little boy, who was about 8 or 9, with a basketball in his hand as he was throwing up in the air and catching it.

She walked over to him, "Hi"

The little boy stopped throwing the basketball and looked at Gabriella. "Hi," he told her, timidly.

Gabriella sat in a chair next to his bed, "What's your name?"

The little boy put the basketball on top of his bed and climbed in, crossing his legs together, and bringing the basketball back to him, "I'm Timmy"

"Hi, Timmy, I'm Gabriella. You like basketball?"

Timmy nodded his head and broke out in a huge smile, "Yep, I love it"

Gabriella laughed, "I love it too. I watch a lot of the games. Do you have a favorite team?"

Timmy reached behind Gabriella and grabbed a picture frame on his nightstand and showed it to her. The picture inside the frame was a picture of him and Troy, in the very exact same spot they were in. Troy was dressed casually, and Timmy looked a little younger so it must have been taken a while ago. Gabriella couldn't believe what a small world it was.

"I love the Lakers because of Troy Bolton. He's my best friend," Timmy told her, flashing her a big smile again, "He wins a lot."

Gabriella nodded and smiled along with Timmy, "He's your best friend?"

Timmy nodded and put down the picture and hugged the basketball, "Yep! He gave me this basketball last year when I first came here and he told me we could be best friends."

"Oh so you've been best friends for a while now, huh?" Gabriella asked him, "How do you like it?"

"I love it!" He exclaimed, not being so shy anymore, "He visits me all the time because that's what best friends do. He visits the other kids too but he says I'm his only best friend because he's taken me to his house. He has a pool you know"

Gabriella didn't know if she wanted to cry or smile as big as she could. She was heavily involved in the Children's Hospital back home, and her heart broke for every single sick child in here and she just wanted to make them all feel better. She didn't know what was wrong with Timmy, but the way his face lit up when talking about Troy, you would think nothing was wrong with him. Seeing Troy have such a positive affect on a child made her wonder just what was Troy Bolton all about.

"He does? Is his house nice?"

Timmy nodded, stretching his arms as wide apart as he could, "It's this big!" he told her, "I wish I could live with him. But he told me I can't because then he wouldn't be able to visit me here. He likes to visit me because I'm his best friend"

"Well of course, you seem like the best friend any guy could have." she told him, "He's lucky to have you"

Timmy smiled and then hopped off his bed, "Can I show you something?"

Gabriella nodded and got up, following Timmy to the side of the room, where he led them to a door that would lead them to the back end of a parking lot. "Why are you showing me this, Timmy?"

Timmy laughed, "One time, I left my toys by the door and Troy almost fell over them. It was really funny. I thought he was mad at me but he still loves me"

Gabriella laughed at how cute he was. And how much he loved Troy. But she was confused by why Troy was entering through the back door, that seemed to be off limits and the parking lot seemed to be deserted. No one used that parking lot and the entrance wasn't that far away.

"That is funny!" she told Timmy, "by why was he entering through here? It's much safer to enter through the front"

Timmy walked back to his bed and jumped in, hugging his basketball again, "I can't tell you, it's a secret"

"A secret?" Gabriella asked, "But I can keep a secret"

Timmy looked at her and cracked a smile, "But he said only me and Mrs. Hart can know."

Gabriella smiled, not wanting to push it any further, "Well, okay, that's fine"

Timmy looked around the room for Mrs. Hart and didn't see her so he turned his body towards Gabriella and brought his legs up to his bed, "Ok fine I'll tell you but don't tell anybody. Troy doesn't like taking pictures"

"Taking pictures?" Gabriella asked, confused, "What do you mean?"

"You know those people with the camera?"

"Oh the paparazzi," Gabriella told him

Timmy nodded, "Yeah them. Troy told me he doesn't want to be in magazines because this is special. I, I don't know what that means but that's what I remember. So only he can come through the back."

Gabriella then realized that an 8 year old boy just solidified her decision to give Troy a chance. Troy was so selfless, taking time out of his day to come and build friendships with these children, giving them something to look forward to, all because he wanted to and not because he wanted to look good in the press to make up for his playboy articles. It was then she realized that she should never judge a book by its cover or by stories printed about them in stupid magazines. She just wished she could have learned all this about Troy by herself, without the help of Timmy or Weslie, but either way, she was glad she did. She'd be stupid to not give him a chance.

"Wow that's a pretty big secret," Gabriella told him, "But don't worry I won't tell anyone"

Timmy smiled and started playing with his basketball again.

"Maybe you can meet Troy one day. He comes here all the time so maybe you can too. He's SO nice Gabriella."

Gabriella smiled and nodded, "That sounds like a great idea"


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note: **

**Troy's cousin, Weslie, is going to be a main character too with her own storyline. I need to add more characters if I want to drag this story out. **

**Troy and Gabriella are of course still going to be in it, but some chapters and parts of chapters are going to be about Weslie. **

**If you don't like that, I'm sorry, but this is what I want to do with my story. Hopefully you read it and end up liking it. **

**There will still be a lot of Troy and Gabriella.**

**Thank you guys!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm sorry about canceling last night, but you can come over anytime today if you want.**

Gabriella read over her text to make sure she didn't make any mistakes and sent it to Troy as soon as she got into her house from spending the afternoon at the Children's Hospital with Ashley. Yesterday, she had canceled because she completely forgot she had dinner with her friend that was in town for two days and she couldn't cancel on her. Now was the perfect time for him to come over and talk about their relationship or lack there of.

**Okay, I'm at my buddy's house, but I can be there in about 5 minutes? **

Gabriella smiled at the text knowing Troy would be coming sooner rather than later, and she just hoped that his feelings didn't change over the course of two days because hers most certainly didn't and she really wanted this.

10 minutes later, she heard her doorbell ring. She got up off her couch and walked towards the front door, stopping in front of her mirror in the foyer, fixing her hair a bit. She pulled down her dress she was wearing, took a deep breath, and then opened the door. There Troy was, standing casually in some jeans, a simple black t-shirt, and some converse. She didn't think it was possible for someone to get better looking every single day.

"Hi," she told him, waving for him to come in.

"Hey," Troy told her, "I didn't actually see your house last time I was here. It's very nice"

Gabriella closed the door behind them and walked towards the back of her home where the kitchen and one of her living rooms were, "Thank you. I actually designed it myself"

"Really?" Troy asking, following her, "Recently?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, well I moved in recently, like 3 months ago, but I started construction on this at the end of last year. I just wanted something nice and cozy"

Troy looked around as he walked through the house, "yeah, yeah, it's really nice. I'm impressed."

Gabriella smiled, "Well, thank you. Do you want something to drink?" she asked him as they made their way past the kitchen. Troy shook his head, saying he was fine, so Gabriella led them to the living room where she had a TV, a few couches and a sofa chair that was the most comfortable thing ever.

"So how have you been?" Troy asked her as he sat down on the couch next to her, putting his arm around the couch and setting the other one on the arm rest, "How was work?"

Gabriella took a sip of her water bottle that she had on the couch prior to sitting down, "I'm doing good," she told him, after swallowing her water and putting the cap on, "Work was work. A kind of stressful event that had gone a bit wrong, but it turned out fine. How was basketball?"

"It was alright. It was just kind of to not get out of the swing of things and we just went over a couple of things"

Gabriella nodded, not knowing what else to say next or how to start the conversation they both knew they had to talk about. Luckily for her though, Troy spoke up.

"So..." he told her, "I know you probably don't want to talk about this, but..."

All Gabriella could think about when Troy was talking was their kiss and how wonderful it was. All she wanted to go was prance on him and kiss him as much as she could. And even though she was trying her hardest not to, she just couldn't not do it. She scoot herself forward on the couch so she was right in front of him. She looked inside of his eyes as he stopped talking and looked back at her. Without thinking, she put her hand on his face gently, and then leaned forward, "Then let's not talk"

She put her lips on his and slowly kissed him, while he brought his hands up and cupped her face, putting more pressure into the kiss and slowly moving his lips against hers. She opened up her mouth a little, allowing him entrance and then moved her hand from his face to his chest, scooting closer to him. Troy moved his body, getting more comfortable, as he took his right hand and put it on the back of her head, running it through her hair. Their tongues met and sparks flew, feelings growing more intensely. He pulled back, for less than a second just to get a look at her, before capturing her lips again in a series of pecks. This time, Gabriella pulled back and they both shared a smile.

"Well, I definitely prefer that over talking," Troy told her, laughing, "but um, you know we have to"

Gabriella leaned back, "But doesn't that answer all your questions?"

Troy placed a hand on her leg, "You're willing to give us a try? I don't even have to tell you why you should?"

Gabriella nodded, looking down at his hand on her leg and smiled. It felt so natural to be like this. "I am," she told him, "and no, you don't. I feel like I've taken too long to realize this. When this happened back home, I should have known right then and there... I mean, I literally think I had electricity flowing through my body. But I'm stubborn, and, you know cautious. I realized I should never judge a book by it's cover... or what cover they're on, in your case. I had doubts about you being able to commit, but I just need to take a chance, whether it ends up good or not. And um, if you're still interested, I want this"

Gabriella was happy she finally got everything out in the open, and felt relieved that she could just let go and be with him. She was still a little nervous how a relationship with a famous athlete would play out, but she was willing to try.

Troy smiled, "I don't think I ever stopped being interested, no matter how hard I tried," he told her, "And I just want to forget everything and just start from here. We can take it slow, however you want"

"Slow is good," Gabriella told him, grabbing his hand with hers, "But I really am sorry. Sometimes, i just try to see the worst in people because I'm screwed up in the head when it comes to relationships."

"Well, I've screwed up in relationships too, so we'll help each other manage," he promised her, taking his hand off her leg to grab her hand, "But we just have to take a chance or we'll never know what could happen"

Gabriella nodded, "I agree."

* * *

"Hey" Gabriella heard Troy's voice through her cell phone, "what's up?"

"I'm with Weslie doing a bit of shopping, what are you doing?" she asked back.

She rummaged through some clothes in Saks 5th Ave as she held her phone up to her ear, waiting for him to respond.

"Oh. Well the guys are coming over and we're making food and stuff and I was wondering if you wanted to come? There's going to be a lot"

Gabriella stopped rummaging through the clothes and looked at Weslie who was across the store looking through the jeans. She walked towards the entrance of the door and exited so she could hear him better and so she wouldn't have to talk so low.

"Oh, no, I don't want to interfere with your guy time, we have tomorrow," she told him.

During the last five weeks, she and Troy have been hanging out a lot, but they make it a point to not neglect their friends. But, Friday and Saturday were their days. They would cook at home or get take out and just hang out. She hadn't seen Troy in 2 days, but she really didn't want to take away from his guy time. She wasn't that type of girl.

"You wouldn't be," she heard Troy argue on the other line, "Come on, you can meet the guys, it'll be fun. Bring Weslie"

The minute Troy said that, Gabriella heard her stomach growl. She was hungry, and she did miss him, but she was just kind of nervous about meeting the guys. She had met Chad, but she didn't really know any of the other guys cause when she hung out with Troy, it was just them two. Or them and Weslie.

"Okay, fine," Gabriella caved, "We'll be there in 20 minutes?"

"That's perfect. See you soon," Troy told her before she hung up her phone.

She shoved her phone inside her purse and walked back inside to find Weslie in the front of the store looking for her. "Where did you go?" Weslie asked her.

She looked up for her phone and saw Weslie standing by some shirts, waiting for her. Over the past few weeks, her and Weslie have been strangely close. She wouldn't say they talk more than her and Troy, but it was close. Since Weslie wasn't working at the moment and she was staying at Troys while looking for a condo, they would hang out a lot. They had a ton in common and she reminded Gabriella of her friends back home.

"Oh, I was talking to Troy," she told her, "He asked if we wanted to go over and have some food"

Weslie set down a shirt she was holding, deciding not to buy it anymore because food sounded so much better. "Oh my gosh, yes. I'm starving!"

"Wait," Gabriella grabbed her before she made a dash to door, "All his teammates are going to be there"

"Derrick too?" Weslie asked, a little nervously. She hadn't seen him in a while. Last time she saw him, she was still with her boyfriend, but now she was single, and she found him so attractive.

"Yeah, well I don't know if all his teammates are, but the ones he's close to, and so yeah, Derrick's going to be there"

Weslie turned around and slowly opened the door for her and Gabriella. They walked out and made their way down the street to her car. "Okay, I don't know if I want to go anymore"

Gabriella laughed. She knew Weslie found Derrick attractive, but she didn't know if she wanted to start dating again. "I don't really either, but only because I don't want them to think I'm trying to cut into their guy time."

Weslie nodded, getting where she was coming from, "Yeah, I doubt they'd see it as that, but I get you. Maybe we can just eat and then leave? I'll say we have facial appointments."

"Okay, perfect," Gabriella smiled, happy Weslie was on the same page as her, "You don't really want to see Derrick?"

They got to the car and Weslie through in one of her shopping bags in the back, and Gabriella got into the passenger seat. Weslie looked for oncoming traffic and when she didn't see any, she walked to her door and slid into her seat. "It's not that I don't want to see him, I just don't know if I'm ready to like and flirt with someone again? You know... those cute text messages"

Gabriella placed her purse on the ground, grabbing her iphone out placing it on her lap as she buckled up. "Yeah, but you know... there's a chance he could be dating someone OR maybe you two won't hit it off."

Weslie looked over her shoulder for oncoming traffic and when there was none, she pulled out of the parking spot and made her way down Beverly Blvd. She liked how Gabriella was honest with her, but didn't sound like a bitch.

"You know, you're right," she told Gabriella, "who's to say he'll like me? I mean, the flirting in the past probably didn't even mean anything. Let's just go. And if we're bored or whatever, we'll leave"

"Deal" Gabriella agreed, looking over at Weslie and smiling.

* * *

"So where is everyone?" Weslie asked as she sat down on the couch with a bottle of water, "You invite us over for food and there's nothing to eat?"

Troy laughed from the kitchen where he was taking out some chips and salsa to serve. "Calm down. Chad and Derrick are bringing the meat in a little bit. There's some chips and salsa if you're that hungry"

"I'm that hungry!" Weslie said as she jumped off the couch and walked to the kitchen, "Um so who's coming?"

Troy scrambled around the kitchen looking for a salsa bowl and his chips bowl, forgetting where he put them, "Um, Chad, Derrick, Mike, Jordan..." Troy found both bowls and walked back to the counter to distribute both items, "uh, Jason and a few others, I forgot"

Weslie nodded. She had met everyone coming, but was just nervous about Derrick. They were always really friendly with each other, but nothing happened of course. She was looking forward to seeing him, but at the same time, was really nervous. For the first time in a long time, she was single and she would be able to talk to him without feeling guilty.

"Do you want any help?" Gabriella offered, "Want me to put some drinks out?"

Troy shook his head, "No, they can help themselves to drinks in here. I just wanted to put out some chips and salsa in the meantime. Derrick can eat these all day and I know he's hungry. Everyone except him and Chad are getting here in about an hour or so, they're training."

"Oh," Gabriella said, not knowing whether or not she'll meet them after all, "So it's just us 5?"

Troy nodded, "Well for now. As soon as they get here, we can start cooking, it doesn't take long"

Right when those words left Troy's mouth, Chad and Derrick turned the corner into the kitchen. Gabriella looked up and then looked at Weslie who was stuffing her face with chips and salsa.

"Hey," Chad called out, "Where do I put this?" he asked referring to the meat.

"Here, come with me," Troy told him as he escorted him out to the BBQ grill outside.

Weslie shot a look to Gabriella meaning she was nervous and Gabriella shot a look to Weslie meaning to say hi. Weslie nodded, and put down some chips and got off the stool she was sitting on.

"Hey," she said to Derrick.

Derrick smiled back at her and walked over to her, and leaned in for a hug, "Hey, you. I haven't seen you in a while," he told her as he pulled back, "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been good, just trying to get settled here in LA," she told him, pushing some hair behind her ears, "How are you?"

"Oh yeah, congratulations on your internship, Troy told me. That's really great," he told her as he reached for some chips, "I've been good, too. Just starting to train, with basketball season around the corner"

Weslie smiled, feeling a sense of calmness. All her nerves were out the window, well most of them since she still didn't know if he was single or what. But she felt at ease talking to him. "Yeah, should be a good season"

Derrick smiled, "Hopefully," he then turned to Gabriella, realizing he hadn't said hi to her yet. "Hi"

"Oh, Derrick, this is Troy's..." Weslie told him, "Um... I actually don't know what to call you," she told Gabriella, laughing.

Gabriella laughed as well. They were still talking things slow, and she wasn't even sure where they were at, but she did know that she wasn't his girlfriend.

Derrick laughed as well, "Gabriella, right?"

Gabriella nodded her head, smiling that Troy actually has brought her up to his teammates, "Yeah, nice to meet you," she told him.

"You, too," Derrick replied, "I've heard great things"

"Well, I hope," Gabriella told him, "I'm going to go see if they need help." She smiled at Weslie as she walked passed her to the back. She always knew when to leave two people alone and how to not make it awkward.

Weslie and Derrick both nodded at her and smiled. They watched her walk out to the backyard, and then Derrick reached for some more chips and salsa.

"Do you want something to drink?" Weslie asked from the fridge, "there's beer, soda, water..."

"I'll take a coke," Derrick replied, sitting down on the stool, "Thanks"

Weslie walked back and stood across from him, and handed him the soda before leaning against the counter.

"Thanks," Derrick told her again, "So have you found a place?"

Weslie shook her head, "No. I've seen a couple, but I'm not motivated to look when I'm staying here in this nice house, and when Troy tells me I can stay as long as I want"

Derrick laughed, agreeing with her, "Yeah, that's true. But if you're interested, my cousin is actually moving out of her condo in about a month. It's in the hills, and it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath. It's very nice."

"Really?"

He nodded, shoving some more chips inside his mouth. "Yeah, I'm not sure how much it is a month, but it's very nice."

Weslie knew the Hollywood Hills was a great area, and she had seen condos around the area, but she never got a chance to look inside. She had her friend to consider, who was in Spain at the moment, but she was moving in with her in a couple of months and he needed more than 2 rooms.

"Hm, I'll have to check it out," she told him, "because that sounds perfect. It's just my friend and I, so 3 rooms is perfect."

"Well, good. I can get you the information on it later," he told her, "and maybe my cousin can show you around"

Weslie nodded, "That would be great. Thank you"

"Oh, no problem," he told her, "So are you going to go to games this season?"

Weslie felt butterflies inside her stomach and she didn't know why. She couldn't tell if he was asking because he wanted her to go, or just to make conversation.

"Of course. Hoping for a 3-peat!" she told him, laughing.

"I am, too," Derrick told her, "but okay, every time I score a basket, I'll look for you in the stands."

Weslie felt her cheeks get hot and her stomach flutter once again. She was so embarrassing, and she hated how she got when a cute boy said something that could count as flirting.

"Oh I'm always there," she told him, laughing, "sitting right behind you guys"

"You weren't there much last season," he told her, "Unless you were seated somewhere else"

Weslie was smiling inside, trying not to look like a fool. She can't believe he noticed that she wasn't there that much last season. Last season, she spent her time traveling, and visiting Matt so she only got to go to a few home games.

"Okay, true," she told him, "But I'll definitely be there this season. Every single home game"

"You sure?" he asked her, "Not taking trips to San Francisco?"

Weslie remembered that last time they had seen each other, she was on her way out to San Fran to visit Matt. It was a legitimate question since Chad had asked the same thing a couple of days ago. Everyone knew she would constantly go to San Francisco.

"Oh, no, no trips this year,"

"Tired of the drive?" he joked, "I hate the drive"

"No, I just don't have any business being there anymore," she told him, "Which is good, because I hated the drive too when I took it"

Derrick shifted in his seat, regretting that he even brought it up. He wasn't even thinking. "Oh, um..."

"It's okay," she assured him, "It's over with"

Derrick nodded, realizing that her and her boyfriend were no longer together. On one hand, he felt bad for bringing it up, even though he really didn't mean to. But on the other hand, he was kind of happy because they always had this easy going vibe between them but it always felt restricted because she had a boyfriend. And he thought she was so beautiful.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to go that way..." he told her, "Are you okay, though?"

Weslie smiled and nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. He made it very easy for me to get over him. Everything's good"

"Oh really?" he asked, wanting to know, but without directly asking about it.

"He's a jerk. I'm not going to take a break from our relationship at his expense. So it's whatever. If he wants to use long distance as an excuse to hook up with whoever, then he can, but I'm..." she started telling him, realizing he probably didn't care and that his 'oh really?' was probably just an obligatory remark. "sorry, I'm getting carried away"

Derrick shook his head, not minding at all, "No, go ahead, if you want to vent..."

Weslie smiled at him, appreciative of his listening, "I just... Some guys just suck."

"Yeah" Derrick replied, while smiling at her, "_some_"


	14. Chapter 14

"Is Derrick a good guy?" Gabriella asked Troy a few hours later as they were putting some dishes away in the kitchen. They had all been in the back, with the rest of the guys joining them, and everyone was having a good time. Gabriella got to meet some of his teammates ad they all seemed really nice and friendly.

"Yeah, he's one of my best friends," Troy told her, dumping some plates in the sink and rinsing them, "We went to UCLA together. Why?"

"Weslie, duh!" Gabriella told him, assuming he would know why she would be asking, "don't you see they're kind of hitting it off?"

Troy looked out the glass window directly over his sink that overlooked the entire backyard. He saw Weslie throwing her head back, laughing at something Derrick had just said. He didn't notice that when he was sitting out there and he forgot all about Derrick finding her attractive and vice versa.

"Oh you're right, she's cracking up out there," he told her, laughing, "I completely forgot I told her about him"

"So he's liked her?" she asked, trying to get some inside scoop for Weslie.

Troy shook his head, "No, I don't think so. I mean, she had a boyfriend, but he did think she was cool to talk to and that she was gorgeous"

"He's gorgeous as well," she commented, looking out of the window now too at them.

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed.

Gabriella laughed a bit and then wrapped her arms around his waist, "Obviously you're more gorgeous."

Troy leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips. "The guys are cool right?"

Gabriella let go of him and put some more dishes in the sink, running them under hot water so the excess food would come off and not stain. "Yeah, they're nice. But I feel like I'm cutting into your guy time. You have a month until preseason starts and I know you guys are trying to mentally get ready for that."

Troy appreciated her support and her willingness to give him 'guy time' that every guy wants in a relationship, but he missed her and he wanted her to stay.

"But we haven't seen much of each other the last few days. Everyone's having fun, stay..." he told her, leaning against the counter as he watched her rinse the rest of the dishes.

"I know, but still, it's been a couple hours. You guys can have the rest of the time to do your basketball stuff. Plus I have some errands to run," she told him as she turned off the faucet and dried her hands on the towel hanging off the dishwasher, "We'll hang out tomorrow"

"You're great, you know that?" he told her, pulling her to him, "thanks for coming." He then leaned down and gave her another kiss on the lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips tighter onto his.

"You're welcome," she told him as they broke apart, "I'm gonna go get Weslie."

5 minutes later, Weslie was inside the kitchen with Gabriella where Troy was, while Troy was outside in the backyard where Weslie was.

"What's up?" Weslie asked Gabriella who dragged her in there.

Gabriella shrugged, not knowing whether or not Weslie wanted to leave, "Are you ready to go or...?"

Weslie smiled, knowing exactly what Gabriella was thinking. Her and Derrick had been having fun. They were talking and laughing and they even went to the store together to get some more drinks, which ended up being really fun for her.

"Well, I'm not totally ready, but if I stay, I don't want to make it too obvious that I'm staying because of him you know?"

"Why?" Gabriella asked her, confused, "If you want to stay, you should stay. I can just take your car and then I can pick you up after my errands to go to dinner?"

Gabriella and Weslie surprisingly had a good mutual friend and all three of them decided to have a girls night tonight by getting some dinner and drinks at Nobu.

"Okay that's perfect," she said, "Or Troy can just drop me off at your house in about an hour. And we'll get ready there."

Gabriella nodded, "Okay, I'm going to go say bye to everyone now"

Weslie shot her a thumbs up and grabbed her drink that was sitting on the counter, "Okay and I'm going to go use the bathroom. Text me later!"

45 minutes later Weslie walked outside and saw that some of the guys were already gone too. Only Chad, Derrick and Troy were sitting at the table. After using the bathroom, her sister called her and she got caught up on the phone with her for a while that staying wasn't even really worth it because she wasn't even spending time with Derrick, but she didn't care at this point. As long as she could at least see him.

"Where is everyone?" she asked as she sat down.

"They're shooting some hoops around back at the basketball court," Chad replied, still eating some pasta salad, "I would play, but I'm way too full"

"Is that why you're still eating?" Derrick joked, "I'm basketballed out right now. I shot about 200 free throws this morning"

"Me too, man," Troy joined in on the conversation, "I'm pretty sure my arms going to be sore tomorrow"

"Hey, can you text Gabriella and ask if she could pick me up after her errands in a bit? I left my phone inside," Weslie asked him, interrupting their conversation.

Troy took out his phone from his pocket and found her name in his contacts and clicked to send her a message. "Sure. What time? Wait. Where's your car?"

"She took it," Weslie explained to him, "I picked her up to do some shopping and then came straight here, but she had to leave and I told her you can just drop me off in about an hour or so, but then I realized you have guests so..."

"I can drop you off," Derrick chimed in, causing Weslie and Troy's heads to turn to him, "where does she live?"

Weslie was surprised by his offer, but definitely wanted to accept. She would much rather have Derrick drop her off than Troy, but she didn't want to make it so obvious.

"Oh no you don't have to do that," Weslie argued.

Derrick put down his soda and shook his head, "No, it's okay, I'm leaving soon too, I have dinner plans with my mom. I'm sure it's on the way..."

Troy looked at his cousin and he knew she wanted him to take her, but that she would never make him do that, so he had to interfere.

"Actually, that would be great. She lives on the way to your house so it wouldn't be an inconvenience."

Weslie looked at Troy and smiled, knowing he was helping her out. She didn't know why she was so nervous all of a sudden. She had just gone to the store with them in her car, just the two of them, and they were fine.

"Well, okay. 10 minutes?" she asked him, in which he nodded.

"10 minutes," he smiled and repeated.

* * *

"Is she home yet?" Derrick asked as he turned onto Gabriella's street, "Or do you have to wait for her?"

Weslie shook her head and looked down at her phone, "No, she's home, she texted me about 5 minutes ago saying she was," she told him, looking back up to keep an eye out for her house. "It's that one with the red door."

Derrick pulled into the drive way and put his car into park, "Wow it's nice"

"Right?" Weslie said, unbuckling herself and throwing her phone into her purse, "It's even nicer inside"

"I bet," Derrick told her, smiling

Weslie smiled back and was hoping this goodbye won't be so awkward. Maybe this was what she wasn't looking forward to and why she was nervous.

"Well thanks for the ride," she told him, opening the door and stepping out. She kept the door open and turned around to face him, "I owe you"

"Wait," he called out to her, "My cousin's condo. Want to give me your number and I'll shoot you a text when I have more information on it?

Weslie didn't care that he was only getting her number for business reasons, she was just happy that he was. She nodded and leaned down a little bit so he could see her from the drivers seat. "Ready?"

Derrick nodded as she proceeded to give her the number, "It's 310-435-7954"

"Got it," Derrick replied, "I'll send a text right now so you have mine, and I'll talk to my cousin tonight"

Weslie nodded and smiled at him once again. She couldn't stop smiling. "Okay, thanks," she told him, "bye." She shut the door and made her way up the pathway to Gabriella's front door. She knocked on the door and turned around and saw Derrick still in the drive way, waiting for her to get in.

Gabriella answered the door, and she stepped foot into it, before turning around and waved at Derrick who was pulling out of the driveway now. Derrick smiled and waved back as she made her way inside with Gabriella closing the door behind her.

"Derrick?" Gabriella asked as she got inside, "He gave you a ride?"

Weslie squealed and jumped up and down, "Yes! And asked for my number!"

Gabriella jumped up and down with her, excited for her new bestie. She had heard all about Matt and even though most people should take a break after dating someone for a while, she thought it was best for Weslie to date again.

"Ah how exciting! How did he ask?"

Weslie stopped jumping around, remembering why exactly he asked. "Okay I'm exaggerating. He asked because his cousin has a condo that she's selling and he knows I'm trying to look for a place and he's just going to give me information on it."

Gabriella laughed, "Oh come on, you know that was just an excuse. He's totally into you"

"You think?" Weslie brightened up again, "I mean, he was extra talkative today. He was usually never like that when I was with Matt"

"Maybe because he didn't think he could be," Gabriella told her, "I think soon enough he's going to text you and then you're going to be going on your very first date"

Weslie smiled, thinking about it. "I hope so"

* * *

"How was your girls night?" Troy asked Gabriella the next day at her house as he was laying on her bed as she was looking in the mirror applying make up.

She turned around as she was done applying eyeliner, "Oh it was good. We just went to Nobu and had a few drinks."

"I hope you had a designated driver," Troy joked.

Gabriella laughed and turned around, facing the mirror so she could apply some mascara. "Of course. Weslie was," she told him, "We're going to Katsuya right?"

"Yeah" Troy asked her, "I've been craving some sushi"

"Perfect," she told him, as she herself had been craving sushi. They had been out and about in public before, but luckily there had been no paparazzi's to ruin the party.

"Come on, you don't need all that make up," Troy commented, "I'm hungry"

Gabriella put the mascara down as she finished, and then picked up some chapstick and applied some. She took one final look at her outfit which consisted of a pair of black jeans, some heels, and a cute, flowy top, "Okay I'm done, I was just applying a bit of mascara, but let's go"

Troy jumped off the bed, a little too excitedly and walked over to her. "You look beautiful," he told her as he grabbed her hand and led them down the stairs to his car.

* * *

An hour and a half later, they were busy enjoying their last bites of dinner at Katsuya.

"When do you officially start practicing?" Gabriella asked as she shoved her plate to the side and then took a sip of her water.

Troy did the same, as he was done with his sushi and teriyaki chicken. "We start next Thursday. We've all kind of been training on our own so we got the endurance and stuff down, but we need to work on plays and stuff," he told her.

Gabriella understood exactly what he meant, which was refreshing to Troy because the past few girls he tried to date had no idea what he was saying when they would ask him about basketball.

"Oh please, I'm pretty sure you guys can go out there with no practice and beat any team," she told him, "I mean, you guys were undefeated last season"

Troy laughed and smiled, "Yeah, we were, but you never know. Fingers crossed though."

"Is there anything else I can get you guys?"

Troy and Gabriella both took their eyes off each other and looked up at the waiter who just came by their table. Troy looked back at Gabriella and she shook her head.

"No, we're good, thanks," Troy told him, "Just the check please"

"Very well. Here it is, no rush," he told them, placing the check on the table and picked up their empty plates and made his way back to the kitchen.

Troy picked up the check and looked at the total. He got his wallet and took out some cash and placed it in the folder before closing it and setting it to the side of the table so the waiter could pick it up.

"How much was it?" Gabriella asked him, curious to see how much they had spent.

Troy smiled, "Don't worry about it. You can get the next one if you want"

"Oh I'm definitely getting the next one," Gabriella told him, "Do you need cash back or is it good like that?"

Troy threw his napkin that was on his lap on the table and took one last sip of his iced tea, "Oh it's good like that. Ready to go?"

Gabriella nodded, picking up her purse from the ground and slowly getting up off her chair. Troy reached for her hand and escorted them out of the restaurant.

There, they were met with a slue of paparazzi, that kept flashing their cameras, getting a little too close for comfort, and yelling out questions and comments left and right.

_"Troy, troy, is this a girlfriend or are you just hooking up?"_

_"Troy are you finally settling down?"_

_"Gabriella, you must not read or see magazines!"_

_"Troy and Gabriella, are you guys dating?"_

_"Gabriella, you like bad boys?"_

_"Troy, are you guys going to be undefeated again?"_

_"Troy, Gabriella, how serious is this?"_

They did their best to ignore them, but obviously they could still hear everything they were saying. Troy gripped her hand tighter, and pulled her closer. He brought his empty hand up to his face and tried to shield it away from the cameras, while Gabriella did the same. She wasn't necessarily used to paparazzi, but she knew how they worked. They finally turned the corner to the parking lot and made their way inside his car.

"Man, I thought we were going to get away with it this time," Troy told her as they got settled in his car.

"I know, they weren't there when we entered the restaurant," Gabriella said, reaching for her seat belt to buckle herself, "But you're a hot commodity, so it's expected."

Troy laughed and also reached for his seat belt ad then proceeded to turn on his car, "Hey, so are you," he told her then leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips before putting his car into reverse and backing up.

"Troy, Troy, are you finally settling down?" Gabriella asked, with a laugh, imitating the paparazzi, "Troy, are you guys just hooking up?"

Troy laughed, "I really wanted to say something, but that's what they want, and I'm not going to give them the satisfaction"

Gabriella turned down the radio a bit and leaned in a bit closer to him, "Oh really? What would you have said?" she asked, teasing him.

Troy took his eyes off the road for a second and looked over at Gabriella, who looked absolutely stunning, and then quickly focused on driving again.

"Well, the car isn't my ideal spot to discuss this since I can't concentrate on you, but I guess now's as good as time as ever," he told her seriously, even if she was joking around with the question, "But um, want to make this official?"

They had been seeing each other and hanging out for a little over a month now and she thought it was the perfect time to make it official, but at the same time, she didn't want to rush him so she never brought it. This is one instance where she was actually thankful for the paparazzi.

"You really want to?" Gabriella asked, wanting him to be sure for himself and not because some paparazzi asked.

Troy nodded, reaching over for her hand and squeezing it lightly, "I want to. I don't think I need any more time to decide. Do you?"

Gabriella smiled and shook her head, knowing that she'll only feel more strongly for him in days or weeks to come if things continue to be like this.

"I don't," she told him, "So this is it. We're official?"

Troy looked over at her and smiled, feeling like the luckiest guy in the world and realized that waiting and her rejecting him the first time was probably for the best because he wouldn't have gotten to know her as a friend. And it only made them stronger.

"We're official"

Gabriella gripped his hand a little tighter and then leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek since he was too busy driving to give him a real one. "Good."

"Good," Troy repeated, bringing her hand up and planting a sweet kiss on it.


	15. Chapter 15

"Well, I'm officially off the market," Troy casually told Weslie as he passed her in the kitchen the next morning.

Weslie who was drinking coffee almost spit it out, but she didn't know why since she knew they were headed in that direction, but she knew Troy wanted to take his time with this relationship to make it the best it could be.

"Really?!" she exclaimed, placing her hot cup of coffee on the counter, "Ahhh!"

Troy laughed at his cousins excitement, "Yep, and I know I said I wanted it to be a while before officially making it official, but it feels right," he told her as he poured himself a cup and started adding some milk to it.

"Ugh Gabriella's the best," Weslie commented, "And if things happen to not work out between you two, I just want you to know that I'm still going to be friends with her"

Troy laughed again and nodded, agreeing that they should still stay friends if anything were to happen, "No, yeah, of course," he told her, "Oh and she told me Derrick got your number?"

"Yeah," she told him grabbing her cup of coffee again along with the latest issue of Vogue Magazine and sat on a stool, "but it's not what you think. I was making it a big deal, but it's only because his cousin has a condo she's moving out and he knows I'm looking for a place"

Troy took a spoonful of sugar and threw it in his coffee, mixing it all, before taking the spoon out and throwing it in the sink. "Yeah as an excuse," he told her, walking back to the counter, "I'm sure he'll text you because of it but it's just a cover up to talk to you. Trust me, I know Derrick"

"Why would he need a cover up?"

Troy took a sip of his coffee, but realized it was too hot so he set it down, allowing it to cool. "Because he doesn't want to get rejected. The guys hates rejection so much that you'd think he's a girl, but he does and unless he knows you're into him, he won't ask you out or he will but he won't make it out to be a date, you know?"

"But how will I know I'm into him if we don't get to know each other on a date" Weslie reasoned, "I mean, I'm attracted to him, but what if I don't like what he has to offer or in a romantic way?"

Troy shrugged, "I knew I was into Gabriella when we were just hanging out as friends. I guess it's different for everybody, but just keep in mind that he's a good guy that you have to patient with. He's not shy at all and you'll know if he's into you, it just takes him a little while"

Weslie nodded and then heard her phone vibrate against the counter. She took a sip of her coffee and turned the page in the magazine before picking it up.

"Speak of the devil," Weslie whispered, wide eyed, but smiling inside, "It's Derrick"

"Well what did he say?" Troy asked her, who had yet to open the text message.

Weslie slid her unlock button and opened the text message he had just sent her. She looked at the name again just to make sure it was him who was texting and not her sister Danielle. It was him.

**Hey are you busy?**

"Well are you busy?" Troy asked her after she read the text out loud

Weslie shook her head. She had absolutely nothing going on and she figured now's a perfect time to look at the condo.  
She picked up her phone again and texted him back.

**No, I'm not, what's up? **

As she waited for him to text back, she finished her coffee and then placed her mug in the sink, trying to think of what outfit she could wear. She needed something cute. After all, it was the first time the two were going to be alone. After deep thought about her outfit she walked back and picked up her phone again, seeing that he texted back.

**My cousin's out for the day so I can show you her condo if you'd like. I can pick you up in about 30 minutes? **

Weslie had butterflies in her stomach, but she knew she had nothing to be nervous about. It was just two friends hanging out. But still, she was excited, nonetheless.

She grabbed her phone, picked up her magazine and ran towards the stairs to go up ready.

"Ahhhhhhh I need to find an outfit," she yelled as she ran, causing Troy to laugh and shake his head from the kitchen.

* * *

"So what'd you think?" Derrick asked her as they were walking to his car from his cousin's condo.

Weslie really liked it, she just didn't know if her friend would because her friend was big on closet space and this place didn't have much of that.

"It's really nice. The kitchen, I love. I just have to talk to my friend obviously and show her the pictures. But I love it," she told him as she waited for him to unlock the car so she could get it.

"Good," he told her, before sliding into the drivers seat, "She's been looking for someone to rent it for a while now, and she couldn't find anyone to afford it."

Weslie smiled, closing the door and adjusting herself in the passenger seat before setting her purse down and buckling herself. "Well fingers crossed it all works out"

"Yeah," he told her, before starting the car and pulling out of the parking spot, "Are you hungry?"

Weslie looked down at her phone and realized it was lunch time and that she had not eaten breakfast except for the coffee and a piece of bread.

"Actually, I'm starving," she told him, silently smiling over the feeling that even though it wasn't an official date, it still felt like one, "Where are you thinking?"

"Um, I'm thinking Alcove Cafe?" he said, "have you heard of it?"

"Shut up!" Weslie exclaimed, "that's my favorite place, ever. Yes, go there!"

Derrick laughed and prepared to make a left turn at the light. "Good. Their sandwiches are amazing," he gushed.

Weslie nodded, agreeing completely, "and so are their desserts."

* * *

"Hey," Gabriella told Weslie as she let her into her house later that afternoon, "what's up?"

Weslie walked straight to her front living room and threw her purse on the couch and then turned around to face her, with the biggest smile on her face, "I've had the best day!"

Gabriella folded her arms across her chest, standing at the entrance way, watching her so happy. "What happened?" she asked her.

"Ah!" Weslie turned around and fell back on the couch, throwing her arms up in the air and giggling, "I just got back from lunch with Derrick. We were there for 2 and a half hours Gabs! TWO AND A HALF HOURS"

Gabriella laughed, and not wanting to be insensitive, she lightheartedly told her, "Isn't two hours normal for lunch though?"

Weslie sat up, composing herself, and told Gabriella to come sit down on the couch across from her. Gabriella did as she was told and sat across from her, waiting for her to answer.

"We went to Alcove"

Gabriella's face instantly went to shock. There was self seating there, and you ordered your food at a counter. No waitresses, no checks, no waiting. "At Alcove?! The longest anybody takes there is an hour and a half. Wow. Good conversation?"

Weslie smiled and nodded, throwing a face over her pillow so she wouldn't giggle so loud. "Ah I'm acting like a teenage girl who's had her best first date ever, and this wasn't even a date! But Gabs, it was perfect. Hes SO funny. And he wasn't on his phone once! The one time he did look at his phone, he literally said, 'oh my gosh, we've been here for almost two hours' I LOVED THAT"

Gabriella smiled, happy for Weslie finally moving on and being excited about someone new. She told her that her first date with Matt was disastrous because they were transitioning from being friends to being more than and sometimes that didn't work for everybody. But with Derrick, they could start at a romantic level sort of'ish.

"And then what happened when you two left?"

Weslie smiled again, remembering exactly how the conversation played out in the car as he dropped her off.

_"So this was fun, I'm sorry if I kept you longer than you wanted," Derrick told her as they were sitting in his car in Troy's driveway._

_Weslie shook her head, "No, no, it's fine. I had fun," she told him, agreeing with him, "I can't believe we were there for so long though" _

_"I know," Derrick told her, taking off his glasses and setting them in his glasses compartment, "But I guess that's what happens when you have good company. The time gets away from you" _

_Weslie blushed, but luckily he couldn't see, "I am pretty fun to hang out with huh?" she joked, grabbing her purse from the ground so she could get out. _

_"Oh of course," he joked back, "We should go back again sometime, and maybe then they'll have your favorite red velvet cookies." _

_Of course she wanted to. "Yeah," she nodded, finally opening the car door, "Just text or call me whenever you want," she said, getting out of the car and flipping her glasses up over her head so she could see his face more clearly._

_"I will," he told her, smiling at her, "Definitely"_

_Weslie smiled, saying bye before closing the door and heading up the steps to Troy's house._

"Okay, he's definitely into you," Gabriella commented after hearing what happened, "He's got to be!"

"I know I'm like overly excited, but I genuinely don't know if he is," Weslie told her, "I guess I just have to wait and see"

Gabriella nodded, but disagreeing with her completely, "Yeah, whatever, he's into you and you'll see soon enough. But ah, that's so exciting!"

Weslie squealed and then got up so she could go use the restroom, but turned to Gabriella before heading out. "Oh I almost forgot! Congrats on making it official with Troy"

Gariella laughed at her saying congrats as if they got married or got engaged. "Thanks, Wes. It's great," she gushed, "and maybe one day, we can all double date as official couples"

"Let's not jinx it," Weslie crossed her fingers and headed out of the living room towards the restroom, "But hopefully!"

* * *

"Are you kidding me? They killed that song! Why are they not getting praised?" Gabriella complained to Troy Thursday night as they were watching a recorded X Factor show at his house. It had become a tradition for them. Even though he wasn't as into the show as she was, he still liked it.

"Gabs, calm down. You know they're not going anywhere, everyone loves them," Troy reassured her, rubbing her back lightly, "Do you want something to drink?"

Gabriella shook her head, her attention not leaving the TV screen for a second. Troy got up and went to the kitchen to grab a beer before hearing the front door open. "Hello?"

"It's me, doofus," Weslie yelled, "Who else has a key?"

Weslie walked into the kitchen and looked into the living room where Gabriella was. It was a big space with no wall so the two rooms connected.

"Well, Chad has a key," Troy laughed, "I just thought you were going to dinner with your friend?"

Weslie grabbed herself a cold water from the fridge and plopped down on the couch opposite of where Gabriella and Troy were sitting. "I was, but my friend ended up not feeling well, so I just came back. Oh wait, am I interrupting anything?"

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other and laughed. "Since when do you care about interrupting anything?" Gabriella asked, jokingly.

Weslie was around a lot of the time, but Gabriella and Troy did have a lot of alone time together. They didn't mind that she would hang around since they loved her company, they just loved giving her a hard time sometimes.

"I'm sorry I don't have a boyfriend to hang out with, so you're stuck with me," Weslie replied, taking a drink of her water.

"You haven't talked to Derrick?" Gabriella asked, taking a handful of m&ms that were on the table in front of her, "I thought he wanted to hang out again?"

Weslie reached for some m&ms as well and then laid back in the couch and plopped them all in her mouth before replying to Gabriella. "No, I don't think he's interested, which is fine. It's not like I'm deeply invested or anything"

"Wes, I'm telling you, he's just not one of those guys that is persistent," Troy told her, "I'm not saying you have to make the first move, I'm just saying, it takes time when it comes to him"

Weslie groaned. She didn't want to wait. If she was attracted to a guy, all she wanted to do was talk and hang out with him but she couldn't do that with Derrick. "Ugh whatever."

"Hey," Troy told her, reaching for some m&ms, "I ordered myself and the guys some shoes and he's the only one that hasn't gotten them and I was going to give them to him tomorrow when I see him for training, but I can just go in later and tell him to come get them right now if you want to see him?"

Weslie eyes widened, causing Gabriella and Troy to laugh, "Shut up! Yes! I mean, no, never mind, I don't want it to be obvious!"

Troy shook his head, "No way, it won't be obvious at all. Watch," he said as he took out his phone to call him."

"You're gonna tell him to come?"

Troy lifted up a finger to shush her since he already dialed his number and it was ringing. After a few rings, Derrick finally picked up.

"Hey, man. What are you doing? Oh. Well, I have your shoes here and I know I said I can give them to you in the morning, but I'm going to be late so can I just drop them off right now? Oh are you sure? Cause I can drop them off. Okay, cool, yeah come now. Okay bye"

Troy hung up the phone and smiled at Weslie, "And that's how it's done"

Weslie couldn't help but smile a little bit. She was going to see Derrick and she had on the cutest outfit so she was excited. "Oh my gosh I love you"

Troy laughed, "Derrick's one of those guys that won't make you go out of your way for him. I knew even if I offered, he would come. See, so it doesn't seem so obvious"

"You're right, thanks," Weslie told him, before taking another sip of her water.

"Or maybe he just wants to see Weslie," Gabriella suggested.

Weslie shook her head, not hoping for the best, "I doubt it. And I doubt he's into me, it's just so exciting to see him, cause he's so fucking attractive, ugh"

Gabriella and Troy laughed and then focused their attention back to the X Factor.

* * *

10 minutes later, they heard the bell ring and all of their heads shot up. Weslie looked at Gabriella. Gabriella looked at Troy. Troy looked at Weslie. Weslie looked at Troy.

"Do you want to get it?" Troy asked.

"Me?" Weslie exclaimed, "Should I?"

"Yeah, just go get it," Gabriella told her, "nothing's going to happen you weirdo"

Weslie threw her water bottle to the other side of the couch and got up, "Fine."

She slipped on her boots, and fixed her hair slightly before walking to the font of the house. She looked in the mirror that Troy had in his foyer and when she looked presentable, she opened the door.

"Hey," Derrick said, with a smile.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Weslie replied, pretending she had no idea he was coming, but opening the door more wide so he could step in.

"Oh I came to pick up some shoes," he said stepping in, "Where's Troy?"

She closed the door behind him and started leading him to the back where they were, "He's watching TV with Gabriella," she told him, "come on."

Weslie and Derrick entered the back and Troy got off the couch to give his buddy a handshake. "Hey man, what's up?"

"Nothing, what are you guys doing?" he asked them, "Hey Gabriella"

"Hey how are you?" she replied, still sitting on the couch.

"We're just watching X Factor, the girls favorite show," Troy told him.

Weslie and Gabriella both looked at each other and laughed.

"Oh shut up, you love this show too," Weslie fired back, "He watches it every week with us," she told Derrick causing him to laugh.

Derrick sat down on the sofa chair that was directly across from Weslie and to the side of Troy and Gabriella. "I like this show too. That 13 year old girl is going to win the whole competition"

"I know, right?" Gabriella gushed, "I was just telling them that!"

"She's coming on next, you should stay and watch," Troy offered, "We were thinking of ordering Pizza if you want to stick around"

"Pizza?" Weslie whined, "I just had that for lunch"

"I did, too" Derrick spoke up, looking at Weslie and smiling a little bit.

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other and smirked without Weslie or Derrick seeing them. They silently exchanged a game plan which Troy was going to put into action, without sounding so obvious.

"Oh I'm sorry you guys can't have pizza two times in a row, why don't you two go get something that you both want?" Troy joked, but was actually serious.

"I mean, if that's all there is, I'll eat it, but I'd prefer not to," Weslie said, knowing exactly what Troy was doing, but not wanting to play along just in case Derrick found it obvious.

"Do you want to go get some Mexican food?" Derrick offered, which surprised Weslie cause that's exactly what she wanted or Chinese. It didn't surprise Troy though, because it was an excuse he could use. Derrick played on to his suggestion instead of making it look like he was the one who thought of the idea

"You want to?" Weslie asked, making sure.

Derrick nodded, "Yeah, yeah, there's a great Mexican take out place down the street."

"Well, okay," Weslie said, looking at Troy and Gabriella who were both trying not to laugh, "We'll go after Carly Rose performs, yeah?"

Derrick leaned back and nodded his head, "yeah, sounds good"

* * *

"Okay, this place is packed. Do you know of any other good Mexican places around here?" Derrick asked, pulling into the parking lot of his favorite take out Mexican place. You could sit and eat it there, but it was mostly known for getting food to go.

"Um, there's Fiesta Cantina down the street on Santa Monica by Barnes N Noble I believe, but I don't think you can get take out. Other than that, I don't know of any other good places around here," Weslie told him, grabbing her iPhone just in case she had to search for a place, "I can look though. Or do you want Chinese, maybe?"

Derrick pulled out of the parking lot and looked to his left for any oncoming traffic because he merged onto the street, heading towards Santa Monica Blvd.

"I don't mind going there, I know exactly where you're talking about, do you?" he asked her, taking a right at the next green light, "Or did you want to get home?"

Weslie shook her head, wondering if this was fate. "No, I don't. We can eat there. It's the best Mexican food ever." she gushed and then looked for Gabriella's name in her phone to send her a quick text.

**Change of plans. We're going to Fiesta Cantina to enjoy a nice, romantic dinner for two. You two have fun. (Okay well I'm going to pretend it's one and enjoy it in my head. Real reason: the take out place was packed so yeah) **

Weslie reread her text back to herself and laughed. She couldn't believe how embarrassing she was and how much she just wanted to know if Derrick was interested in her at all.

"What's funny?" Derrick asked, a little confused.

Weslie looked up from her phone, panicking if he saw her type that text or not. "Oh nothing, Gabriella just texted me."

Derrick nodded, "Oh yeah, heard her and Troy are officially together. That's great"

Weslie smiled, "It is. He hasn't had a girlfriend for a while now and she's the perfect girl. They're great."

"It's hard to date when you're an athlete or in the public eye because you never know if they're in it for you or for the attention, so that's good Troy found someone."

Weslie couldn't help but wonder if he had ever been used like that, or if it was just a general statement. She didn't want to be too nosy, but she did want to know.

"I mean, is it really that hard? I'm sure you could easily find an actress or model that's already in the spotlight to date," she told him, with a slight chuckle so it didn't come off rude.

Derrick put his blinker on and turned left at the stoplight, and then a sudden right onto a side street, "I mean, I guess it just depends on the person or what you're into," he laughed.

Weslie thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask if he had a girlfriend. She wasn't shy at all and she had no problem asking any guy if they had a girlfriend or even making the first move sometimes, but it just felt different with him. She didn't want it to come off like she was asking for herself.

"You don't have a girlfriend?" she asked, even though Troy told her that he didn't. But he could have easily got one this morning, or yesterday.

Derrick glanced over at her and gave her a small smile, "Why do you ask?"

Weslie shrugged, "I don't know, you said it's hard to date so I'm just assuming."

He pulled into the parking lot of Fiesta Cantina and looked for an open parking spot before taking it. He adjusted his car in the space and then put it in park before turning it off.

"Oh yeah. Well, no I don't," he told her, unfastening his seat belt, "If I did, do you think I'd be out to dinner with a gorgeous girl? No. I'm pretty sure I'd be dead"

Weslie laughed, trying to contain her excitement. He had just called her gorgeous. Troy was right. He wasn't shy. He had no problem flirting. She just wanted to know if he was actually into her. It's not like she was some random girl. They had hung out before, have talked, and hung out for hours the other day. She thought that was more than enough time to tell if you're feeling someone or not. But she knew she had to be patient. And she would be.

"Well thank you, you're not so bad yourself," she told him, unfastening her seat belt as well, "Ready to go inside?"

* * *

"What are you laughing at?" Troy asked Gabriella who was laying her head on his chest, looking at her phone.

Gabriella sat up and continued giggling, "Wes just texted me saying they're actually going to a sit down place for dinner, but in true Weslie form, so you know it was funny." she told him, imagining how happy Weslie must have been right now, "So it looks like it's just us two tonight"

Troy smiled and was a little relieved. Not that he minded that Weslie hung out with them, but he felt like him and Gabriella needed some alone time to just bond since they were a new couple.

"Which is great," Troy told her, leaning in for a kiss, "Right?"

Gabriella leaned in too, placing a deep peck on his lips, "Right," she told him, leaning back, "How does it feel being a taken man?"

Troy laughed, "You know, so far, so good," he replied, pulling her in and wrapping his arms around her, "I especially love it when you drop by and bring me starbucks, that's always nice"

Gabriella playfully hit him, "I'm glad that's the highlight of this relationship," she joked, but then changed her tone turning the conversation into a serious one, "And about, um, you know..."

Troy knew exactly what she was getting at. He knew Gabriella wasn't the type of girl to sleep with someone she didn't have strong feelings for. He didn't know how strong her feelings for him were thus far, but he was willing to wait until she was in love with him if that's what it took. If they even got that far.

"No, we, um, we don't have to talk about it until you're ready. Because I'm sure whenever you're ready it'll be because this is, you know, something special so that's when I'll be ready too," he told her, feeling a little bit awkward, but not as awkward as it felt with his last two girlfriends. This felt more comfortable and he didn't know why since they were only a little over a month into their relationship and about a week into making it official. He thought she might assume that just because he's a guy, and he has this reputation, that sex doesn't mean anything to him, but it does. He was brought up knowing how important it was and how it should only be done between people who love each other. And he wanted to make that perfectly clear to her.

"And I mean, I know it might be a little hard to believe because you know... but I've really only been with two girls. My ex girlfriends. Just in case you were wondering," he told her.

Gabriella smiled a little bit, and even though she already knew this because Weslie told her, she pretended like she didn't and went along with it, deciding to add some humor to the situation. "Well then, after knowing that, I guess I'm ready..."

Troy laughed, knowing she was kidding of course, which he thought was good in this situation. Gabriella always knew how to make light of a situation without forgetting about it completely.

"No, but seriously, thanks for telling me that," Gabriella told him on a serious note, "But besides that, your past is your past and I'm only worried about the present. It takes me a while, because I'm a girl, but you just got to be a little patient."

Troy nodded, understanding completely. Even if she did want to, he wasn't ready. But he wasn't going to tell her that just because he's still a guy. He needs to look a little bit tough.

"Of course. Get over here," he said pulling her even closer and placing a kiss on top of her head, before snuggling her, "We have all the time in the world, babe."

Gabriella shut her eyes for a moment, realizing that she did, in fact, make the right decision by giving him a chance. Her ex boyfriends did not even compare to Troy, which was good because they were exes after all. And all she wanted was for these feelings to last forever.


	16. Chapter 16

"And then I told him to get the fuck out, and to this day, whenever I go home and see him, he looks down and walks the other way," Derrick told Weslie before taking a sip of his soda.

Weslie's eyes widened a little bit as he was telling her a story about kicking his sister's boyfriend out of his house in the 12th grade. "No way, that's hilarious. Did your sister hate you for it?"

Derrick shook his head, reaching for the last chip before dipping it in salsa, "No, she wasn't home yet, he was just waiting for her."

"And did he confess to cheating or you told her?"

"No, he just made up some excuse like it wasn't working out. I mean, they were only a month into the relationship so no strong feelings were really too invested, you know?" he told her.

Derrick was telling her that he found out her sisters boyfriend was cheating on her and he confronted him about it and when he came clean, he told her to leave and to break it off. Weslie was actually really into the story and wanted to know more about it.

"And you never told her?" she asked him, finding it a bit weird that he didn't make him confess to his sister about cheating on her the way he made her boyfriend confess to him.

Derrick shook his head, "No, I mean, I thought about it, but I didn't want her to feel like she did something wrong you know? I had friends that got cheated on and they would ask themselves what THEY did wrong, which was so stupid. It was the guy that did something wrong, you know? I just didn't want her to have low self esteem and question her character or who she was. Or her not feeling good enough. And then she'll also have that fear of getting into another relationship because she isn't sure if he'll cheat or not. Is that weird? Should I have told her?"

Weslie actually thought that was perfect. She had never been cheated on, well that she knows of. Her past relationships just didn't work out and she couldn't imagine how hard it must be on someone to go through that. That's why she understood where Troy was coming from when all he did was hook up with girls.

"No," Weslie told him, "I think that's actually really sweet of you and a very good idea. I know I'd probably be torn up about it too. Girls already have a hard time believing everything guys say. Well, normal girls at least," she laughed.

Derrick smiled, "Yeah. Well maybe when she's married with kids, I'll tell her, but for right now, it's just our secret."

She couldn't help but smile at his smile. She felt so pathetic, but just looking at him smile made her want to smile twice as much. She thought he was the sweetest brother ever, and just a good person in general. This past hour and a half, she got to know him more and he was making it so hard for her to not get feelings for him. She knew she liked hanging out with him and she hoped it continued, but she just couldn't tell if he was into her or not and that was driving her crazy.

"Of course," she responded with a smile.

As soon as Weslie took her last bite of her enchiladas, the waitress came by and asked if they wanted anything else.

"Um, I'm good," Derrick told her, before looking over at Weslie, "Want something?"

Weslie dropped her fork on her plate and pushed it to the side, telling her she could take the plate, "No, I'm good, thank you."

The waitress dropped off the check and picked up the empty plates, "There's no rush, take your time"

"Thank you," Derrick replied, before picking up the check and looking at the total. He took out his wallet and put his card down, closing it before sliding it to the side of the table so she could pick it up.

"How much was it?" Weslie asked, taking out her wallet as well.

"Don't worry about it, "Derrick told her, taking a sip of his coke and moving his napkin from his lap to the edge of the table, "I got it."

"Really? I have cash," Weslie asked, making sure. On one hand, she wanted him to pay so it could seem like a date, but on the other hand, she knew it wasn't so she didn't want to have to make him pay.

"Really. Put your money away," he told her, smiling.

Weslie smiled back, and decided to not argue with him and just let him pay. She tucked her money back into her wallet and shoved it in her purse.

"Well, okay, thanks," she told him before preparing to slide out of the booth, "I'm going to go to the bathroom before we go"

"Yeah, go, she still has to come by and pick it up," he told her, leaning back, picking up his phone for the first time during their dinner.

She got up and walked to the back of the restaurant to the bathroom.

Derrick, meanwhile, was replying to a text his sister sent her, but was distracted by Weslie's phone going off. He thought she took it, but she didn't. It was sitting by the wall next to the salt and pepper shakers. He leaned forward a little bit and saw the name **Matt Bower.** He knew that was her ex boyfriend and he didn't know why he was calling, unless they were working things out? Which kind of bummed him out a little bit since he thought they were hitting it off. He actually really enjoyed her company. Apart from her being one of the most beautiful girls he has ever seen, she had the best sense of humor and this easy going vibe that he really liked. The vibrating stopped, until a few seconds later when he called her again. And again after that.

By the time Weslie got back, the waitress had picked up his card and dropped it off, so they were ready to leave whenever. Matt had called a total of four times and Derrick really wanted to reach over and grab her phone and delete it, but he wouldn't dare. He would just think about it.

"Are we all good to go?" Weslie asked him, sliding into the booth to get her bag and her phone.

Derrick nodded, watching her pick up her phone, "Yeah, want to head out?"

Weslie was distracted by missed calls she saw she got. Matt and her hadn't talked in a while and she had no idea why he was calling her four times in a row, on a random Thursday.

"Weslie?" Derrick called her name, since she wasn't responding.

She looked up from her phone, "What? Oh yeah, sorry. Let's go"

They both slid out of the booth and made their way out of the restaurant, reaching the parking lot before Weslie told him if he could wait a minute. Derrick nodded of course, being the kind person he was, but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her going off to the side to call him back. What did that mean?

Weslie walked a good distant away from Derrick to call Matt back, just in case something was wrong with him. He did call her four times, so she just wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"Hey did you call?" she said to Matt over the phone, turning back to see Derrick sitting on a bench in front of the entrance waiting for her. He didn't know if he could hear her, but she didn't think he could. She was a good distance away. "You called me four times to tell me you missed me? I thought something might have happened to you. Look Matt, I don't really have time for this. I wasn't the one that ended this, you did so don't call me up randomly after we haven't talked in a while and tell me you miss me. I know now that this relationship wouldn't have worked out anyway because you showed me the kind of person you are. If our relationship couldn't last when we were apart from each other, it's not going to last in the future. No, actually, I'm happy."

Weslie was annoyed at this phone conversation. How dare he call her and tell her he missed her and that he thinks he made a mistake breaking up with her. She wasn't buying anything. She was in a good place. She was interning at her dream job, she had great friends and family, and she was feeling great about herself. She did not want to go back to that place of having to worry about their relationship being fine. About having to worry about going up to see him.

"Have you hooked up with all the remaining single girls and now that you got that out of your system you want back in? Oh don't give me that, I know that's exactly why you broke it off. And you know what? I don't even care anymore. I wasn't my complete self in that relationship and I deserve so much better. Someone who will think about me before themselves sometimes." she told him, getting upset and looking back at Derrick who was still patiently waiting for her. "Matt, I have to go. I honestly don't have any bad feelings towards you. I just want you to be happy. I want me to be happy. And this isn't the way. No, I know we were friends before and maybe one day we can be friends again but for now we need to distance ourselves from one another. I have to go."

She hung up the phone, and took a deep breath before walking back to Derrick. There was no way she was getting back with Matt. And it wasn't because of Derrick, it was because she knew he wasn't the one for her and that she deserved someone who was willing to fight for their relationship when it wasn't perfect.

"Hey, I'm sorry," she told Derrick as she walked up to him, "We can go now"

Derrick got off the bench and shoved his phone into his pocket, "No, it's fine. You okay?"

Weslie nodded, turning to the car and walking towards it, as she waved her hand saying she was okay, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Can we get ice cream though?"

Ice cream actually sounded really good to him, and Derrick knew a great ice cream place a few doors down. "Actually, there's a place a few doors down from here. We can walk there if you want?"

Weslie stopped walking, "Yeah, that sounds good"

Derrick stopped walking as well and turned around walking into the opposite direction of the car. "Come on"

* * *

"So is everything okay with um, Matt?" Derrick asked Weslie as they finished their ice cream in a nearby park where there were lights lit and it was really pretty. Everything in Beverly Hills was pretty in the summer time, especially around sunset. They were leaning against a fence, looking out into the sunset.

"What?" Weslie asked, snapping out of her daydream, "Oh, um, yeah everything's fine"

"Your phone was just going off while you were in the bathroom and I just saw his name pop up," Derrick told her, so she didn't think he overheard their conversation.

Weslie walked a few feet away to the trash can to dump her cup in there and then walked back, "No, yeah, everything's settled"

Derrick nodded, not knowing really what that meant exactly, but he assumed they might be working things out. She did look pretty happy after all.

"Well that's good, sometimes people need breaks from each other to realize that they actually need each other," he told her, walking over to the trash can this time to throw away his cup that had ice cream in it.

"What?" Weslie asked him as he walked back to where she was standing. She was slightly confused.

"You guys are back together?" he asked her, as if it wasn't clear that's what he meant.

Weslie laughed a bit, shaking her head, "Oh no. We're not. That was the first time I had talked to him since we broke up, and I just called back because I thought maybe something was wrong," she told him, about to get into details but decided not to, "We're not together"

Derrick felt himself smile a bit. He looked out into the sunset and thought it looked extra beautiful tonight and he didn't think it was by coincidence. He looked back at her, knowing that he finally had to let her know he was interested because what if she did get back her ex bf? He would beat himself up for not showing her how he felt. It was the perfect time to. She was looking out into the sunset, looking beautiful as always and he was telling himself just to go for it.

"So, it's okay if I do this then?" he asked her, taking his hands out his pockets and grabbing her face ever so lightly as she turned towards him.

Weslie's hazel eyes looked right into Derrick's light brown eyes and she knew exactly what he was going to do. Her heart was racing, but at the same time she was totally relaxed. And just before he leaned in, she closed her eyes and as soon as his lips touched hers in the most anticipated kiss of her life, she threw her hands over his shoulders and cupped them around his neck.

He deepened the kiss, moving one of his hands from her face to the back of her head, putting it through her hair. She also brought her hands up to his hair and messed with his hair a bit, not losing focus for one second on the kiss. She deepened it as well, shifting her lips a little bit, and not wanting it to end.

But it had to at some point.

He leaned back a little bit, looked into her eyes for a few seconds, and then leaned back down and gave her another kiss before leaning back again. Weslie opened her eyes and smiled a bit, not wanting to look like too much of a freak for smiling too much.

"That was more than okay," Weslie told him, "And you could do it again whenever."

Derrick laughed, his arms still around her her, but now at her waist, "You know I was always into you, right?"

"You were not," Weslie argued back.

"I was too," he replied, "Well okay, maybe I wasn't totally into you. I'm going to sound like such a guy right now, but I did always think you were very hot. Actually not hot... beautiful. And of course, those times we did talk, it was fun. You were always great to talk to"

Weslie smiled. He felt the exact same way she felt back when she had a boyfriend and she felt relieved that it wasn't just on her side. "Well, I felt the exact same way, but you know, my situation back then was different"

Derrick nodded, "And it always made me feel like I was doing something wrong, but I wasn't. And I don't know," he told her, not really knowing what he was getting at, "But I'm glad that's over with and that you're here, right now... with me"

"Me, too," she told her, her hands still wrapped around his neck, "You want something to happen?"

"No, I was thinking we could just hook up, no strings attached?" he told her, releasing his arms from her waste and stepping back from her a little bit.

Weslie could see the smile forming on his face and she knew he was kidding of course. "I mean, if you want, but sooner or later, you're going to fall for me so you might as well start off with those intentions, you know?"

Derrick laughed. He loved how funny she was and how easy going their conversations were. He was excited about this. His last girlfriend was over a year ago and he was ready for something new.

"Well, how could I say no to that?" he asked her, taking steps to get closer to her again.

"You can't," she told him, "you already kissed me, so either we see where this goes or we forget it happened and not speak to each other again."

"The first one," he told her, giving her another kiss on the lips, "Definitely the first one."

"Good answer," Weslie told him as she wrapped her arms around him and they turned to watch the rest of the sunset.

This was by far the most perfect night she has had in a long time. And same went for him. They both felt that it was finally the right time to see where this relationship could go. And they could not be more happy about it.

* * *

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," Weslie screamed, while jumping on Troy the minute she got home from hanging with Derrick, "I love you so much!"

Weslie squeezed him tight and then broke apart and placed a kiss on the top of Gabriella's head, "And I love you too!"

Troy and Gabriella laughed.

"Why are you being so weird?" Troy asked her.

Weslie ran to the kitchen really quick to get a water and then came back and threw herself on the couch with a big smile. "Well thanks to you, Derrick finally made a move and we're going to see where this goes."

"Ahhhh! Really?" Gabriella yelled, happy for her, "See I told you he was into you"

"That's great Wes," Troy chimed in, "You two really are great together"

Weslie threw her head back and smiled. Everything was perfect.


	17. Chapter 17

**Authors Note:**

**A reader brought to my attention something regarding Derrick. She thought it may have been Derrick Fisher, but it is not. This is a fictional Lakers team. Derrick resembles Troy in a lot of ways. Just wanted to clarify. **

**Thanks! **


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